


The Sixth of the Pack

by JamieAvenBell



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Back to Earth, Black Paladin Keith (Voltron), Insecure Lance (Voltron), Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Lance is neglected, Langst, M/M, Pining Keith (Voltron), Post-Season/Series 06, Pre-Season/Series 07, Red Paladin Lance (Voltron), Sad Lance (Voltron), Sentient Voltron Lions, klance, olkarion, pack of Lions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-21
Updated: 2018-11-02
Packaged: 2019-06-14 04:44:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15380925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JamieAvenBell/pseuds/JamieAvenBell
Summary: After the loss of the castle, the paladins head for Olkarion, seeking out for assistance and supplies. Keith is the first to recognize that Lance had been distancing himself from the team, that he somehow lost his cheerful and noisy self in the months they’ve spent apart.But before he could talk to his current right hand he stumbles over a secret that he never expected. Maybe the other paladins started to neglect Lance but the Lions surely did not.





	1. What the hell is happening?

**Author's Note:**

> Since Season 7 is scheduled for August and the SDCC trailer was woah … just woah … I needed to get this out of my system before the next season starts.  
> This will be short though, probably 4-5 chapters. :)

To propose that the paladins of Voltron would journey back to Earth and actually reach their home planet were two vastly different things. In the spur of the moment, the team had been elated, although the shock of loosing and reviving Shiro had been still lingering. But soon Keith realized that it would take them years if they were relying on the speed of their Lions. They’ve been spoiled rotten by the teleduv technology, plus Keith finally realized why the Blades had outposts strewn across the Galra empire to operate fully.

Space was huge. Like huge.

So, their first logical step was to head for Olkarion. One of the wisest alien races could surely help. They’d been traveling about two weeks, sleeping in shifts, talking over the coms, sharing silly stories and thoughts. Somehow everyone evaded the topic of Shiro’s death and Lotor’s utter double-triple-they’ve stopped counting-betrayal. Instead, Pidge and Hunk focused with Coran on the reconstruction of the castle ship while Alura, Romelle and Krolia kept up the flow of a light but steady conversation. Especially Romelle was eager to learn more about this part of the universe and all the adventures Voltron had survived. Considering their trip through the quantum abyss Krolia offered to tell the stories of their space whale hijacking but kept the visions and everything personal out of it.

Keith was glad she did. He still tried to process that Shiro’s vision turned to be reality.

Nevertheless, Keith expected Lance to boast about his successes, invite Romelle into the Red Lion as soon as they seemed out of danger … instead, he quietly assisted Allura’s re-tellings when the princess had forgotten some details or explained the tactical insight the young Altean girl could hardly comprehend. His voice sounded tired, his out-going behavior was mellowed out.  

Everyday Keith wanted to open a private com to the Red Lion and ask what the hell happened to Lance. When did he grow up this fast? He’d been a jokester, a comic relief, loud and proud and joyful. He was still expressive but somehow in the last months, Lance had grown into the position of the Right Hand that was connected to the Red Lion. But before he could voice all this they’ve reached the Olkarion boundaries and received a warm welcome from the alliance members all over the system.

“They thought we were dead?”, Pidge echoed confused after Ryner, the leader, explained how the news of Lotor’s defeat within the quintessence field spread over the universe.

“We could even register the impact of the castle’s explosion with our scanners on Olkarion.”

To keep it short, it was a huge, but somehow controlled mess.

Shiro was hauled off to the best hospital.

Coran, Hunk, and Pidge started immediately with plans for a new wormhole generator.

Krolia contacted the Blades to inform them of their whereabouts and her decision to stay with Keith. (And he was eternally grateful for that.)

And Allura tried to reassure the alliance that they hadn’t won the war but managed to prevent a catastrophe. That Voltron had taken a blow but they weren’t defenseless.

And Keith? Left out of it and without a task he started to gather as much information as possible about the months he had spent on the giant whale drifting through space-time.

 

* * *

 

Although everyone feared that the chronicles, the history books, the photos, … were lost somehow their bizarre space uncle had thought of the back-up that had been updating itself constantly and was saved on a couple of memory crystals. This included all the reports of their missions and personal logs, too, also a bunch of everyday information like training room records, vital records, security footage, vlogs, digital proofs of all the shenanigans the Paladins had achieved so far … Hooked up with the Olkarion database Keith could easily access everything with his Altean tablet.

So, Keith, unable to do much at Olkarion, started to read all those reports the team had provided to the database, excluding most of Coran’s writing about which parts he replaced or maintained at the castle. At first, it was dire work, the reports were kept short for a reason, but soon he could easily tell which paladin had written the texts just by the use of words and rhythm of speech. Pidge always sidetracked to some tech info, Hunk’s reports were trying to list all the dangers they’ve encountered and survived, Allura tended to highlight to important steps of their mission and the personal growth of everyone so far.

Keith could have asked the paladins what happened, easily, but he was never a big talker. Especially after two years staying on a space whale, just in the company of Krolia and Cosmo. As if reading his mind his space wolf appeared in front of him, almost pinning him down on the bed Keith was sitting on.

“Oouf, you’re heavy”, he sighed but rubbed his wolf’s belly fondly as Cosmo stretched right beside him. “Have you’ve been teleporting into the kitchens again?”

The almost guilty whine was explanation enough to him.

Still, Keith picked up his tablet and continued to read. He wanted to be a good leader, a worthy leader, especially after he had left the team for all those months. That’s why Keith pulled up all of the training logs in order to overlook each personal growth. Everyone had upped their levels for sure.

A sudden knock startled Keith and Cosmo looked up from his slumber. Seconds later the door opened with a swoosh revealing Hunk and Pidge.

“Hey man”, he greeted softly. “We tried to reach you via com but you never answered.”

His communicator was lying on the desk, untouched, blinking rapidly. “I’ve been reading, sorry. Did something happen?”

“Not really, don’t worry.”

“That must have been some interesting stuff”, Pidge inserted but Keith only shrugged at her remark.

“The princess wants us to join her for the official ‘Staying strong’ alliance press conference tomorrow morning”, Hunk continued. “By chance, could you tell Lance? We’ve looked for him but he’s vanished.”

Keith considered the possibilities for a while. “Maybe he’s just sleeping. It’s already late.”

“He isn’t in his room, so we thought he might be with you”, Hunk offered with a shrug. Pidge snorted but Keith didn’t get the joke.

“He’s not training?”

“Nope.”

“Flirting with some female aliens?”

Hunk shook his head. “Don’t know what he’s up to lately. He never tells me.”

“Can’t be something too serious, we’re talking out Lance. Let’s go now”, Pidge almost whined. “I want to check if my test run turned out positive.”

Before Keith could answer the Green Paladin dragged Hunk away, not even waiting for the automatic door to close.

He had spent his third day reading through the database (resting as Krolia wished him to do after their insane battle with Lotor) and during that Keith discovered a little secret Coran never told anyone. After all the disasters the Royal Adviser had sewn tracking devices into their clothes and amours without anyone noticing. Not even Pidge had noticed. In between that massive zettabytes of data Keith had found maps which depicted the movements of the paladins – and the devices were still tracking. With a few swipes, Keith opened up the holoscreen of the Olkarion district they were staying at and overlapped it with Coran’s tracking program. Colorful dots presented each paladin, Allura, Krolia and even Romelle, Keith rewound the record and pressed fast play.

Lance’s blue dot seemed to roam aimlessly through the district, shortly staying at Shiros hospital wing, meeting up with everyone for dinner before he took off in another direction than anyone else. Keith couldn’t explain himself where he went, up until now he was rather unfamiliar with the Olkarion facilities, since a guide, a guard or a scientist always offered to pinpoint them through the living city.

For the last hour, Lance had been staying at the Lion’s hangar, his dot vibrating in place. He probably bonded with Red or fussed over something Keith wouldn’t understand. He never got to understand Lance behavior fully.

“Come on”, Keith pushed himself upwards and sent his tablet into sleep-mode. Cosmo feigned a yawn before he trotted beside him, ready for a late night walk. Cycles were longer on Olkarion, and although Keith never needed that much sleep it was around midnight; Earth time. Why wouldn’t be Lance sound asleep, with his night mask and skin care on?

 

* * *

 

Since they’ve deliberated the system the Lions were set a bit far away from their living quarters. In case of emergency they could always use a speeder but walking almost took half an hour – Keith didn’t mind, he liked the soft humming of the Olkarion city at night. After hours spent reading and analyzing he really enjoyed the fresh air.

Aside from a few guards who were patrolling Keith didn’t meet anyone who would bother him with a talk or ask him questions which left him wondering why Lace had chosen this place to stay. The former Blue Paladin strived for attention, he loved telling the stories of their adventures leaving aliens all over the universe with glowing eyes full of wonder.

The security lights had been switched on as Keith entered the make-shift hangar of the Lions, his eyes focused on the soft glow of an Olkarion lamp. Sharp, dark shadows edged on the Lions gathered here, sleeping giants which Keith had been missing dearly if he was honest to himself.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. Something wasn’t right. Cosmo seemed to sense the tension, but his space wolf simply sat down, unaware of any danger. Still, Keith was totally sure, that they had settled their Lions in a straight line, Black in the middle, Blue and Red on the left, Green and Yellow on the right.

The Lions had formed a loose circle.

Baffled, Keith approached the only visible entrance, where the soft light of Lance lamp was illuminating the night. Out of instinct, he reached for his Marmora blade and …

Keith almost let his beloved blade slip through his fingers.

Lance stood in the middle of the Lions, a lamp set beside his feet, hands thrown in the air as if he was having a heated argument with himself. He turned his back to Red and started to stomp out of the hangar.

Immediately Keith hid in the shadows of the far corner, Cosmo following him but laying still so that he would neither glow nor sizzle with quintessence. Keith pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming, just to make sure ...

Ever so gently, Red picked Lance up like a mother lion her cub, nibbling on the hem of Lance’s shirt. While Keith was still wondering how this was even possible since Red was like hundredth times bigger than Lance, the former blue paladin was neither worried nor was he protesting, he just relaxed until Red placed him on top of Blue’s nose. “Hey, beautiful, you look stunning today, too.” Blue’s eye glistened fondly as Lance petted her softly before he slid down the long arc, hopped off the lowest point with ease and descended on Yellow’s outstretched paw; hanging right there waiting for him.

Keith’s let out a muffled gasp. There’s no way Lance did this for the first time. It’s like he’s flying through the air, trusting the Lions completely to catch him in time. He did not even wear his amour for quiznak’s sake. 

“Come on, big guy, I have not lost weight, I’m not that light, really, geez. Stop nagging, you sound like … Hunk did.” But Lance settled down on Yellow’s paws and started rubbing them until a soft purring filled the hangar. Curiously, Green crouched right beside them and poked Lance in the back, as if she was begging for attention.

“Of course, Girl”, Lance smiled. “I’ll tell you what Pidge was up to today, don’t worry. I’m just so tired I cannot keep my eyes open.” Then he climbed down from Yellow, made a large circle around the lions until he stopped before Black. The Black Lion had his head placed on his paws, patiently watching the scene in front of him. But when Lance patted him like the other ones, he released a deep hum. “It’s okay, Black, I won’t bother you with another stupid nickname. You’re way too cool for all of them.”

He was talking to all of the Lions, Keith realized. So far, Red and Black had sent him pictures or emotions, somehow they could form sentences with their roars that a paladin could automatically translate. But Lance seemed to have a talk with them as if they were responding to him individually and …

Keith stopped his train of thoughts forcefully, eyes trained on Lance.

At least Lance settled next to Red’s paw and folded out a blanket that had been lying there. “You’re a bunch of space cats”, he stretched out and laughed bitterly. A sound that made Keith’s heart clench. “And I’m you lonely, crazy caretaker.” Lance scooted closer to Red as if he wanted to find the most contact points. As on cue, Blue shuffled closer, much closer than necessary.

“Good kitty”, Lance mumbled almost too low to hear. “Good night, see you on the other side.”

Before Keith could make himself present Lance had fallen asleep.

He tried to approach but suddenly a sharp roar echoed through his head – Red. As if she was preventing that Keith woke Lance up.

“The princess scheduled an official conference with all the alliance’s members. Lance needs to attend, too, so please make sure, he wakes up early.” He never had a “real” conversation but he was positive that the Lions understood his request.

Black even answered with a quiet rumble, oddly low-key so that Lance wasn’t disturbed.

Keith stumbled out of the hangar, Cosmo right behind him, trying to comprehend what he had witnessed. Lance was sleeping right beside Red and the other lions. On the hard floor of the Olkarion hangar, only with a thin blanket … but he looked so at ease and peaceful Keith did not dare to disturb him.

He seriously couldn’t remember the last time seeing Lance like this. When was the last time he hadn’t seen Lance troubled, or scowling or retreating or trying to make himself invisible?

“What the hell is happening?” Keith asked but Cosmo just disappeared with a buzz of energy.

He wasn’t so sure whether his space wolf decided to keep Lance company, too.


	2. Lance and the Lions

As soon as Lance landed the Red Lion in the Olkarion hangar he switched into default mode. The other paladins and the Alteans immediately rushed to their designed tasks. Allura exchanged information with Rymer, Hunk and Pidge took off with Coran to analyze the crystal the Castle ship had left behind and Keith accompanied Shiro to the next hospital. Except for Keith who had every right to fuzz over his adoptive brother no one took notice of Lance. As always every one of the team marched off leaving Lance to answer some curious questions of the bystanders and other men and woman left behind.

He would never complain about it but Allura often forgot that there were more people on a planet than those leaders she regularly conversed with. That’s why Lance made sure that the mechanics and all the Olkari who helped to patch up as well as unload the Lions (and leading Kaltenecker to a nice green meadow) knew about their win over Lotor, of their journey to Olkarion and the fact that Voltron was still a valid threat against the crumbling empire. The conversations were light, full of cheers, clapping and shoulder patting and Lance smiled through them enthusiastically. He would never show the signs of exhaustion that plagued him for too long. He was worn out, clung to an alarmingly small amount of energy, but he suffered through the questions and pleas to share the stories of Voltron with well-acted glee. Especially as the weakest member of the team he had to keep the façade up. He had to raise the hope of all the people that depended on Voltron and the alliance.

Hours later he met most of the team for a short dinner, followed by a debriefing of Allura and Rymer - afterward everyone scattered once again. Lance went back to his own room, showered, relaxed, tried to sleep but stared restlessly at the high ceiling instead. After weeks and weeks being always on high alert, he couldn’t rewind. He tried to meditate, he tried to read anything at his Altean tablet but it failed to tire him out. A constant humming filled the Olkarion city, it crept into Lance’s thoughts, intensified his worries and fears until they were like an itch he couldn’t scratch away.

So, Lance waited, endured.

As soon as everyone seemed to be asleep he slipped out of his quarters and silently went over to the Lions. At the familiar sight of Red and Blue sitting right to each other, he relaxed at last. “Hey, my friends”, he greeted, “care if I join you for a bit?”

Red’s presence flooded his mind easily, there were no more walls between them, releasing a sarcastic chuckle that meant as much as: _You never stay just for a bid, you stay as long as possible, my paladin._

The itch vanished and Lance felt like he could finally breathe freely that he could exhale the sigh he had suppressed for hours.

“Keith has grown into a fine leader, hasn’t he?” Lance stated the thought that had been troubling him for days. “You’ll sure be happy to have him back, he’ll be a good right hand, too, when Shiro finally returns.”

Red’s eyes flared up instantly.

“I really thought my silly crush died within the months he vanished, but look how buffed and tall he came back.” Lance sighed once again. Red had never complained about all the feelings Lance tried to process, she had missed Keith, too. “All grown up and serious, he didn’t spare a glance at me, he did not even talk to me ever since, probably I’m not important enough … I mean it’s only natural to give you back, right? I’ve filled the gap, I hope I wasn’t an obnoxious replacement. But I get it, I do not fit for the job and you deserve the best …”

Suddenly Lance found himself lying flat on the floor, Red’s paw placed firmly on his chest. The other Lions shifted slightly in their positions as if they wanted to watch. 

“Do you want to crush me, Red?”, Lance asked, voice full of spite. “Really, you could have said something if I was bothering you this much.”

 _My paladin_ , the sentinent Lion answered though. _No one will replace you, I won’t let you go. I’ve lost one paladin to many, I won’t let you leave. Victory or death, I would vote for victory though._

“Kitty, you’ve spent too many years all hogged up on that Galra ship. How should I be your pilot if I’m stuck on the ground?”

_You are allowed to enter anytime._

“Generous. What about food? Am I allowed to leave if I’m hungry?”

_Minor details. You are my paladin._

“Aren’t we possessive today?”, Lance joked and Red lifted her paw from him. Red was fierce, easily to anger and had a quick tongue but all her emotions burned bright. Her anger was burning, her fighting spirit was fueling but her love was like an inextinguishable flame. Lately, her affection, changing their mental connection into a steady stream of lava, was the main reason Lance would get up for another long, long and exhausting day.

“Bad kitty”, Lance scowled as soon as he got up and turned his back to Red. “No polishing for you tonight. I’ll simply focus on Green, so that she will be so unbelievable shiny her invisible cloak will glitter, too.”

Green chuckled at his remark slightly, a soft rumble echoed through the hangar.

A few ticks of pouting and Lance felt how Red softly noozled his back. _Have to erase all doubt. My paladin._  He swiftly turned, hugged his Lion, and let himself be wrapped up in burning emotions. Red was all the warmth he needed when the other paladins refused him. “As if I could stay mad with you. Look at you, all dusty from this mad journey.” In their very own language, he expressed that he was sorry. That he would try not to depreciate himself further.

Polishing the Lions was an impossible task for one human alone but it calmed Lance. It helped to remember the times he washed and dried the McClain’s family car, then and now, he filled the air with light chatter and all the Lions responding in their very own way. “How about I repeat the last Altean words you’ve taught me Green?”, Lance asked without stopping his movements. “Then you all can laugh about my crappy pronunciation.” Gently, he placed a small holo-projector beside him which automatically connected with the lions, before the first written vocabulary showed up. “That’s easy. _Exit. Pod. Emergency Pod._ As in _release the emergency pod._ Oh, a whole sentence … _Green is the best Lion._ Can’t agree or Red will push me down again. _Gravity stabilizing system._ Um … _Airlock. Pull this lever in order to open the airlock._ ”

Without issues, Lance picked up his old routine: First, smile and joke a carefully calculated, tolerable amount of time. He was getting better at not stepping on the other paladin’s toes. Second, survive another day unnoticed probably by taking a nap around noon, take care of Kaltenecker and appear to all the scheduled meetings and meals on time and then wait for the Olkari to fell asleep. That was almost easy. Then, at last, he slipped out his quarters, tiptoed his way to the Lion’s hangar again and tried to be awake as long as possible. Since the Olkari woke up with the first beams of light Lance often slept three to four hours before he hid in Red or appeared to be extremely busy with the next impromptu task.

Lance had taken this routine to perfection at the castle ship. He never showed up late to any training, split-up chores or briefing – no one cared what he did in between as long as Lance kept himself under the radar. He bothered no one, was no burden to the other paladins and tried hard to improve his own flaws and weak points so no one would scold him anymore.

 A behavior once adapted is hard to break.

 

* * *

 

The rest of the night Keith spent reading through Lance’s logs, vlogs and reports like a madman. Yes, he arrived almost too late for the official alliance conference, earning concerned gazes from Shiro and a scolding one from Allura. Three hours of sleep were never enough to work efficiently through all the questions the other leaders of the alliance’s planets were firing at them. Yes, he kept throwing worried glances at Lance, too, which the Red Paladin just ignored. Keith still tried to process all the thoughts Lance had voiced concerning him, all the private video logs probably no should have ever watched.

But yes, he would suffer through a couple of more sleep deprived nights and days to unlock the mystery around Lance.

And he wouldn’t hesitate to do it all over again, if necessary. _What do you think, Red, does Keith eat right? Does he remember to rest? I’m not there, where ever he is to interrupt him, to challenge him who can run the fastest to the castle’s kitchen._ Lance's voice kept repeating itself, distracting Keith further, making it harder to control his blush. _Oh, I miss watching him train, Red, I’ve always stopped functioning, he has two swords now, but his third weapon his damn fine ass …_  

Keith was confused. As confused as space was endless. Since when had switched his crush from Allura to him?

Nevertheless, one of the countless flashes of the quantum abyss sky-rocketed his worries ad infinitum. He knew those flashes were possibilities of all the possible realities existing, non-existing, partly-existing ... They could happen, they didn’t have to. But a particular one still haunted Keith. He landed on a deserted planet, frantically leaving Black and running up to Red, scrambling through her half-open maw where he found Lance. Crumpled on the floor, lying in his own blood, a ghostly, thin and worn-out version of the joyful boy he came to like months ago. The vision didn’t last much longer, he only remembered how he babbled about being too late, how he would never abandon Lance, how he said sorry, multiple times, for not noticing that Lance hadn’t been with the rest of the team … He remembered the feeling that he had lost the most important thing forever.

The moment the conference ended Keith snatched his Altean tablet and disappeared into the spacious Olkarion woods in order to read in silence. As silent as it with a zapping space wolf that wanted to hunt down any wild game within his reach and Lance’s dreamy sighs filling his ear pods.

At first, Keith hadn’t noticed the absence of Lance in the other paladin’s reports, too. The rest of the team hardly acknowledged the current Red Paladin and his efforts. But the moment Keith started to read through the pile of information stacked in the Castle’s database a cold shiver rushed through his veins, alerting all his senses and making him read faster and faster, more and more. Within the flow of the last months, Lance’s writing changed, as much as the paladin had changed. His reports became short and precise, never straying off-topic. The grin he had often worn in the first vlogs disappeared, instead, it was replaced by a thin line of pressed lips turned downward, heavy sighs and a tired-looking Lance who explained tactics and maneuvers with expertise. He still seemed to have a hard time with all the tech stuff Pidge and Hunk were talking about but Lance focused on the cultures and the people they’ve met on the way. How the Galra influenced their lives on the bad and on the bright side.

“I’ve always thought he was just flirting with everything that moves”, Keith muttered to himself. But Lance had started to build up a whole network of alien race interactions and relationships knowledge, desperately trying to be useful. _I’ve made a mistake shaking the hand of that tentacle Alien on XD-57, Allura had to rescue me before they eat me alive. I’ve embarrassed everyone again._ Phrases like these constantly changed into _The kids and the maids in the Shrallm palace were kind enough to explain me all the customs before I had to bother Coran and Allura. I still had some candy from our last stop left to cheer those brats up._

At last Keith pulled up Coran’s tracking program and played it fast forward through days and weeks, always keeping an eye on Lance blue, blue line. Pulling up some vlogs to gather further details about the events of the day.

“I’m not lonely when you are around, Red. It’s like Keith is still with us, isn’t it, kitty? I don’t think he will come back for a useless, unbearable friend like me, he even stopped answering my coded messages, maybe being a space ninja is really stressful and busy … I wouldn’t know. He will return to his Lion though.” In the video, Lance patted the console affectionately and a low rumble sounded as a response. “But I’ll take good care of the other ones so that we don’t lose anyone anymore. Anyway … concerning today’s fight with Lotor’s personal assassin squad …” And it showed. Keith looked through the battle formations Coran always recorded – Lance always kept guard in the distance and shot the enemies down before they became a threat. Or he was zipping in and out with Red’s speed, keeping everyone safe on the battle scene, everyone but himself. They were supposed to be a team but Lance took more and more advantage of the single fighting skills Red offered. And the brunt force of their enemies attacks, too.

 _Useless, unbearable friend like me._ Why did the other paladins let Lance suffer like this?

Lance trained alone. He trained a whole lot more, still alone.

He spent hours alone. The blue line always seemed to avoid the rest of the team aside from the occasional gatherings and meals.

Several weeks after Keith’s departure and clone Shiro’s start of degrading Lance’s actions, the Red Paladin had slept less and less in his room. Instead, he almost hid in the Lion's hangar or the observation deck. Alone. And no one had noticed – apparently.  

That’s why Keith started to slip out of his Olkari quarters, too. He had somehow squeezed all that reading into his schedule without anyone asking what he was up to, yet, he had no idea how he should approach Lance. He followed the Red Paladin into the Lion's hangar, his heart beating in a frenzy, waiting for the moment when he could merge their frazzled red and blue lines together again.

He watched how Lance sang to them on the second day, stringing on an Olkari instrument similar to an Earth guitar. “It’s been a while since I’ve sung with Hunk, do wanna hear what songs we’ve liked the most, my dear space cats?”

He listened to Lance’s stories on the third day. Stories what Hunk and Pidge were constructing for the new teleduv generator. Re-telling Black how Shiro’s health was progressing and repeating the exact words the doctors and nurses had used.

But Keith never approached or made himself present – thanks to his Marmora training he could blend in with the shadows perfectly. The Lions felt him, most likely, they never blew his cover though. “This is going to stop”, he promised under his breath. Too himself and to probably all the lions listening in. Although he had no idea how he could change the other paladin’s behavior or corner Lance on this. _Hey, I know, we’ve been neck on neck and you kinda seemed to rile me up on purpose and I don’t know if you really hated me, but man, I’m worried sick, would you like spend some time with me and_ … and what? Keith wasn’t a social butterfly either. But he always chose to be alone or avoid people, he liked occasional silence. But Lance who needed a certain level of attention and touch and praise and a way to express all those thoughts swirling through his pretty head needed people like an earth plant needed the sun ... Lance had been forced into isolation.

Keith did not leave his hide-out, even as Cosmo trotted over to Lance, carrying a wooden stick and the Red Paladin greeted the space wolf with: “Hey, buddy, didn’t Keith play fetch with you today? Don’t sulk, he has an awful lot of duties as our leader.”

Until Keith found Lance unconscious on day four.


	3. A visit in the astral plane

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic turns out to be my coping mechanism before season 7 starts. ^^"  
> I mean, we're planning a binge-watching-party, this will be fun, but I'm all (l)angsty how those episodes will turn out.  
> And somehow I have to finish this story until then. :D

3.

The first time Lance had entered the astral plane was several days after Lotor’s and Allura’s hook-up over quintessence researches. Back then, he buried the last bits of infatuation for the princess, he had seen it before with Hunk and Pidge, officially team punk now – all those intelligent, supreme people did not cast a glance at him and his silly ideas. How hard Lance tried he would never be a mechanic like Hunk, he would never grasp more than the basics about quintessence. He would never be worthy enough for their tight-knit duos.

One of those nights, when team punk went off to tinker, Allura was swept off her feet by Lotor’s very being and Shiro scolded him more than necessary for his behavior … Lance could neither stop thinking nor found sleep.

He was just taking space and supplies, the others were simply nice enough to let it slide. He was a good for nothing, even Lotor, a Galra they had fought before, managed to gain Allura’s trust immediately. Lance seemed not to be trustworthy enough even after all these months they’d spent together.

Although he loved getting attention Lance didn’t want to have attention anymore. He would just burden the team more if he told them how tired he was, how hurt, lonely …. Oh, so lonely – he sealed so many words and thoughts and feelings inside him, he was stuffed-up - no more words were flowing out.

Damn, Lance finally understood why Keith had been always this broody, moody, and closed-off.

Stressed and restless he fled and hid in Red, finally dozing off for a bit before the nightmares returned. Lance tried to confide in Coran, since he easily caught the signs of sleep deprivation but Lance couldn’t let his beloved space uncle suffer any more than necessary.

He couldn’t remember the last night he slept through. The nightmares always crept up on him, countless visions of blood, gore, death, loss, defeat, … how the team was captured, slaughtered, blown up in the quintessence field, stabbed, shot, crashed, burned, how everyone Lance loved died,  how the Galra enslaved Earth and executed his mom, abuela, Marco, Veronica, Luis, all the family and friends he left behind, turning Cuba into a black scorching field of death.

The worst nights were filled with visions where Lance was abandoned on some hostile alien planet, Red forcefully taken from him, thrown into some weird alien prison, left alone to die since he wasn’t skillful or powerful enough to fend for himself. When Keith in his Marmora gear looked down on him, eyes cold, and declared that he should have left this failure of a paladin way sooner ….

Lance knew the difference between the dreams and being awake; still, he searched for the shadows in his friend’s eyes, for the slightest sign of annoyance that would result in being booted from the team.

Lance feared the nightmares where he was swallowed up by a cold white void the most.

Although the Galra had almost been blown up with the next hit of the radiation wave, Lance didn’t burn when he died. Instead, all warmth left him in an instant. A cold fire raced through his veins, choking him, freezing him, blocking every sound and view until all he could feel was a white, infinite, cold numbness, floating for eternity.

One of these nights, when he curled up in Red, his Lion opened up the astral plane for him and Lance plunged into an abundant sea of love and warmth and a soothing purring that filled him up to the very core.

Red enveloped him like a heated blanket. Blue caught him in his fall like the softest, comfiest cushion and all the other Lions assured him in hushed voices that they would keep guard. That he was safe, no one could hurt him or take him away as longs as they stayed connected.

Lance regained some of his energy and motivation back, slowly, ever so slowly. With every “Wake up, my little one, another cycle to do your best awaits” from Blue and possessive rumble from Red that she would never leave him, that she would fight to death in order to protect him, … Lance was ever so thankful that the Lion’s presence relieved the itches and healed the wounds on his soul like a soothing balm.

The Lions couldn’t really interact with Lance like other humans or aliens. That’s why they’ve started sharing ten thousand years and more worth of stories and knowledge of almost every part of the universe.

And warmth so much warmth that Lance would forget the cold burn of the radiation field disaster.

 

* * *

 

Keith was on a mission. Maybe the most important mission since they all had started their journey into space. Tonight he would approach Lance and clear up the misunderstandings that stood like a wall between them.

Keith had even asked Krolia how he should start this tricky situation. Maybe a battle plan, a bunch of tactics would help to calm his nerves.

It didn’t help that his very own mother burst into laughter as Keith explained his dilemma. She wasn’t very keen to Earth standards but still … somehow his dad had known how to charm her. Or she had charmed him; he’d always skipped on the details and enjoyed the stories of their everyday life as a mash-up alien family.

The only other option to ask was Shiro. And Keith would rather have no plan at all than admit to Shiro that he was finally, finally acting on his crush. He could practically hear his brother’s chuckle and soft “Took you long enough”.

Determined and prepared with several ideas on how to overcome the rift that was ripped open between Keith and Lance during his stay at the Blades Keith set out into the Lion’s hangar. It was, again, late at night and most of the Olkarion inhabitants were deep asleep.

Hopefully well equipped with some snacks, additional blankets and comfy cushions he snatched out of his living quarters Keith couldn’t shake off the thought of a sleep-over-picnic. The memories of Lance sitting huddled up on the observation deck, talking with Keith for hours or just watching in silence were some of the most precious for him. Even if they didn’t talk this night Keith wanted Lance to know that he wasn’t alone. _I’m not lonely when you are around, Red._

 Back with the Blades or within the quantum abyss Keith did think of Lance, occasionally, now and then, but he had always missions to fulfill, tasks that needed to be done for surviving … he had always been busy. He had often wondered how the other paladins were doing without him, had regretted he couldn’t reply to Lance messages, missed his laughter, missed their bantering, missed the easy flow of to-and-fro between them.

But now … with almost too much free time on his hands, while traveling through space with the Lions or here on Olkari Keith never stopped thinking ( and worrying ) about Lance. Being apart had nursed his longing, being suddenly together but farther away from each other than before – hurt.

Still, when Keith stepped into the Lion’s hangar, setting sight on Lance curled up on top of Red’s paw, Keith suppressed his silly longings. He had found his mother, his very first, very amazing pet, he had somehow unlocked the mystery of growing up. Meanwhile, Lance had declared defeat to Hunk’s and Pidge’s connection, had lost Allura to Lotor, had lost his self-esteem due to the clone’s actions, … So far, they had balanced each other out but the latest developments were rather unpleasant.

He had to find a way where both of them were happy.

 

Keith set down the basket full of stuff he had brought with him right beside Red, wondering how he should climb up a two-meter high paw without startling Lance. Until a small but very sharp voice entered his mind. _Catch him!_ , Red hissed and Keith looked up.

Lance was suddenly trashing in his sleep, turning and whining as if the suffered from an intense nightmare.

He caught the Red paladin more or less, as he fell downwards, still, Lance’s body crashed on the hard floor. “Are you alright?”, Keith inquired, automatically looking for injuries or limbs weirdly aligned. “Are you hurt somewhere?”

Lance didn’t answer.

Keith propped his buddy up against him, softly touching his cheeks. “Hey, buddy, are you …”

Lance didn’t protest or groan or push him away. He hadn’t woken up yet.

In fact, he was lying still, showing no reaction of pain or whatever … Keith bent down right above him – Lance was barely breathing – he searched for his pulse instinctively – the weak pumping was hardly traceable.

„What happened?“, Keith asked Red, anger rising with the seconds ticking by. „You know, don’t you? Why won’t he wake up, why …”

Keith’s words died on his lips as Black forcefully ripped on his consciousness, pulling Keith out of his body. Distantly, he felt how his shoulder bruised as he toppled on the hard hangar floor, right next to Lance. But most of his awareness was focused in the rush of energy, the sudden weightless feeling when Black threw him into the astral plane.

Shiro had told him that the transition felt smooth, like swimming, gliding on a mental wave. Keith wondered what he had done to anger his Lion.

 

The next thing he knew was that he was splayed on a cold, but smooth surface, smoky space dust lingering on the ground and tickling his nose. Keith sat on his heels, saw Lance and almost lost his balance again. The Red paladin was surrounded by color-coded, actual Lions. Well, Keith mused, not lions in particular, like he knew from zoos on Earth, but symbols of their Voltron partners. Lance sat on the dusky ground, his back leaning against Blue, a big and sturdy female Lion, fur accented with blue and white patches, swirling over her body like waves with bright foam tips. On his lap, Red stretched lazily. She was half the size of Blue but could easily plaster herself over her paladin. Lance threaded his fingers through her fur, streaks of red, orange and black licked over her body like flames.

“Lance?”, Keith asked, still wondering if he dreamt. Neither Shiro nor Allura had ever mentioned to him that the Lions looked like mystical, ethereal creatures. Like members of a special, magical space Lion tribe.

“Ke-keith?”, Lance spluttered and suddenly sat up. “Wha-what …?”

“You were unconscious and Black … he … woah.” Keith turned to his own Lion’s presence. A huge, gigantic male Lion presented Black, mane as dark as the night sky, eyes violet and blazing. Just sitting there he reminded Keith of a worthy, strong leader. Of someone to trust, who would solve every problem and protect his loved ones. One stroke of his paw and Keith would be sent flying, one wrong move and Black could bite his arm off.

Now, Keith felt more than intimidated that Black had chosen him as his paladin.

 

“It’s the nightmares”, Lance explained, gaze locked somewhere in the distance. “Red keeps them at bay, so my body can rest for a bit.”

“You should stop sleeping so high from the ground though, little one”, Blue chided him and Red nudged him with her head as well.

Keith stared dumb-founded at the Lions. They didn’t move their maws but he could make out their voices loud and clear and …

“They took this form for me. I complained that talking to ethereal voices without a body would drive me nuts eventually”, Lance told, voice small and defensive.

Suddenly the Black Lion pushed against Keith’s back, making him stumble forwards. “You wanted to know if he’s alright.” Black had never talked to him like this. His deep, dark voice resonated through the astral plane. “Go and see for yourself.”

 

Somehow Keith found himself kneeling in front of Lance, frantically searching for the right words. All his plans and preparations were screwed, he had to improvise now. Red lifted her head wearily but did not seem to acknowledge his appearance. Instead, she shuffled closer to Lance.

“How long do you have nightmares?”

He hesitated but Keith assured him that he honestly wanted to know.

“Since I rescued Coran from the explosion.”

Months.

Months.

Fucking months.

“I have a lot of nightmares, too.” Keith offered sympathy. Lance wasn’t allowed to feel alone anymore. “I’m dreaming that I wake up at the Garrison, Shiro’s dead and nothing ever happened so I’m all alone again. I often dream that the team gets blown up because I’m too late or to far away to help. That Haggar captures me and tortures me since I’m such an unorthodox little half-breed.”

“Don’t worry, mullet.” Lance sported a tired but reassuring smile. “That won’t happen, Cosmo will always teleport you out of her grasp and I can clearly see how your mom would defeat the whole empire just to rescue you.”

For the first time since Keith left to join the Blades he looked, really looked at Lance. Boy, his two years old images of him were nice, but Lance up close was amazing. His gaze traveled over Lance’s caramel-toned skin, not as smooth as he remembered, thanks to a few scratches and blotches he had gathered on their journey. His hair had grown longer, his features were sharper now as if the had lost weight … Long arms and long, long legs were toned, lean and surprisingly muscular, almost hidden under the soft blue Olkari tunic and black under armor Lance picked to wear.

“Tell me about your nightmares, please. I want them to discard as you did with mine.” Too cheesy? Too honest? Keith couldn’t decide, the astral plane somehow loosened his tongue.

“It’s not one reason or fear … I can’t do anything right, Keith. I can´t even sleep without Red’s help. But I’ve promised to keep everyone safe, to keep the team together so you’ll still have a family to return to.” Lance carded his finger through Red’s fur and Keith felt his jealousy raise its ugly head.

 

Keith hastily swallowed up all the words and tears that threatened to escape though. Lance had tried to keep the team together so that he wouldn’t lose another family? That he could have a place to return to? Aside from Shiro and recently his mother, no one had ever cared. He was the foster child, the problem child, the prodigy with the bad temper, the castaway when he was too hard to handle.

He left for his own good so that Lance could fill up the gap with all his potential and striving and … but instead, Lace desperately kept the gap open so that Keith had a place to return to.

The crush Keith tried to ignore for more than two years suddenly turned into something deeper.

“I’m noting more than a failure, though. I believed the team needed me to ease the tension, to look out for everyone’s emotional well-being.” Lance continued. Maybe the astral plane lowered his inhibitions, too, since only the pure images of their souls were allowed to enter here. Maybe Lance had just waited for someone to actually listen to him. “Yet, they don’t need me, they function the best without me interrupting or meddling. Who needs me anyway? I’m always the second choice. I was the second choice at the Garrison after you left. Shiro always picked the others instead of me for missions. Wouldn’t be a surprise if Romelle turns out to be the better sharpshooter … well, I’ve come to terms with that. I’m not that good, strong, intelligent, caring or capable, I’ll always lose, you, the other paladins, the battles we fight, my life – one day. Until then I’ll keep everyone safe. At least I’ll try to.”

The Red paladin did not dare to look him in the eyes. Instead, he stared into the distance, an epitome of loneliness, anchored by his two Lions, Red and Blue.

“Lance …” Keith started but didn’t know what to say. He needed to elaborate on these feelings, but how? Why and since when did Lance think that he was replaceable?

 

“You don’t have to stay. It’s okay.” Lance shrugged. “Go sleep in your bed, Keith. I’m sure you have some important matters to attend to. The leader of Voltron should be well-rested for that.”

“Lance, no, listen.” At loss, Keith inched closer. Suddenly, Red lifted herself from Lance and trotted into the loose circle Black and Blue were forming. “I don’t know why you’ve started that stupid rival thing but I never wanted you to feel less worthy than you are.  Voltron is a team, Lance, we need our individual strength combined to our best.”

“I don’t have …”

“Yes, you have strengths.” Keith interrupted with more force than necessary. “It’s your heart, Lance. You care and love and worry and fight with all you’ve got. You know best how to make us feel better, at ease, you’re our sharpshooter always keeping us safe from behind.” The words, Keith had kept hidden, fought their way to the surface. Only to Krolia, after weeks of prodding and fake-pouting over his silence, Keith had admitted how he felt. “Your heart is so much bigger than anyone’s I’ve met so far, you do take a liking to strangers so easily, you somehow have the ability to charm everyone regardless of gender or race. Because you listen to all of them, you look at them, really look at them and you care. That’s why your heart is your greatest strengths but also your biggest weakness.” Lance flinched at that but Keith continued either way. Lance needed to know the truth, no more running, no more white-lies. “You give so much to everyone, that you forget to look after yourself, your heart is easily wounded and trampled on. But in instead of building your walls up, you always try to give more and more, until you’re overlooking your strength and turn it into a weakness.”

 

Lance raised himself up from Blue, facing Keith directly. Blue eyes, deep as the sea, met his gaze, tears gathering at their reddened rims. “Really?”, he whispered. Keith wished for a way to take away all the pain and suffering Lance had endured. He wished to lift up the sad shadows on his gaze, that had dulled the liveliness and all the emotions Lance usually had portrayed.

“Yeah.” Keith didn’t push his luck and did not reach out over the last gap between them. „I’ve missed you. The first days I’ve spent with my mum I didn’t know how to talk to her. So, I asked myself: What would Lance do? You’ve told me so much about your family and somehow – even galaxies apart – you helped me and kept me safe. Lance, please, believe me, you are important to me. I’ve never expressed it clearly, I was never the best to deal with emotions, but I’ll try to change, to be a better friend. And the other’s will probably, too, if they realize how you feel.”

“I’ve missed you, too.” Lance finally admitted. Blue orbs were piercing into him, evaluating his words and actions carefully. “Coran tries his best to help, he’s always there but I cannot burden him any further. He’s the only one who catches me when I stumble out of the cryo pods, Keith, the others … they do not seem to care anymore. And when you came back, you pushed me aside, too. I just wanted to hug you, to welcome you home and pretend nothing had changed. That I would say Vol- and you would answer Voltron, that you would be that touch-aversed mullet who was thrilled to kick my ass during sparring.”

“I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you somehow.”

“Then … you … um …” A deep blush adorned Lance’s cheeks, but he spread his arms wide open.

Keith remembered the gesture when he had arrived with Krolia and Romelle. When he had brushed Lance off.

“Oh … yeah, of course.”

Keith pulled Lance into a hug, too much force and enthusiasm resulted into Lance leaning heavily into his space, bodies flushed against each other. But Lance wrapped his arms around Keith’s torso and melted with a heavy sigh against him. “Welcome back”, the Red paladin mumbled against Keith’s shoulder, visibly losing the tension that had plagued him.

“I promised I would return.” To Lance. Always to Lance, but Keith still feared the possible rejection. “Maybe I’m scared as hell to tell Kolivan that I’ll ditch the Blades … I’m not leaving anymore.”  

Lance hugged him impossible close and tried to muffle a whine which turned into full-grown sobbing within a heartbeat. Lance wept out his fears, his sorrows, his unexpressed thoughts and Keith was there to hold him, to guide him through it. Whispering soft assurances how well he managed to keep the team together, how amazingly the alliance had spread, how he loved watching the Voltron shows across the universe, how soon they would set foot on Earth …  

 

Suddenly, Keith felt another push and both, he and Lance, toppled over. Limbs intertwined, Keith towered above Lance, somehow, he managed to cradle his head before he’d gotten hurt. If getting hurt within the astral plane was even possible.

Gazes locked, Lance was impossibly close to him. Pupils blown wide, mouth slightly agape Keith could see how a deep pink blush crept over Lance’s cheeks, coloring his ears in embarrassment. But he didn’t move, he didn’t speak, just waited patiently until Keith could feel the tension between them like the slightest sparks of an electric current.

He didn’t know who acted first, who started it all but a tick later Keith found himself kissing Lance. They kissed and kissed, hands roaming, kissed and kissed, soft moans and discovering touches, kissed and kissed, nibbling lips, dancing tongues.  

„That was simple.“ Black chuckled amusedly.

Keith forced his eyes open – when did he close them? – and tried to sit up, which was immediately followed by a protesting sound from Lance. The Red Paladin looked up to him, all soft and pliant, lips swollen until he gathered his bearings and covered his face with both of his hands.

“Human courting is so much easier than the Altean ones.” Blue added, her voice wavering through the nothingness.

“Well, Keith is half Galra, depending on his heritage we’re long past courting”, Red injected with a barked laugh. “This is one step away from mating.”

Flushed and embarrassed Keith climbed off Lance. Whatever plans he had made during the day he never thought to act on his impulses. “We should …” … continue? Continuing would be nice, but Keith surely doubted that Lance was eager to participate in another round of making out. Would he?  

 _Fuck!_ _I wanted Lance to feel important and the next second I pounce him …_

“Should we leave?” Lance offered and peaked through his fingers. Cheeks still dusted pink.

“Yes, leave first … conti… uh … talk later. Without those noisy cats eavesdropping.”

“We’re always connected”, Black replied calmly. “We will know sooner or later.”

 

* * *

 

Back on the ground of the Lion’s hangar, neither wanted to leave though. They sat close to each other, but still so far away that they wouldn’t touch directly. Keith wanted to scream and punch something to let all his frustrations out. Again, Lance avoided his gaze.

“We should probably get some sleep”, Keith proposed. It was only logical; it was the right thing to do, wasn’t it?

No one got up, though, no one moved.

“Would you like to stay?”, Lance whispered. Each word quivering with doubt and fear.

 Somehow, Keith suppressed his shout of joy and compressed all his feelings into a smile. “Yes, I’ll stay.” Remembering the basket Keith pulled out the blanket and cushions. “That was my plan anyway.”

This time, when Keith opened his arms for a hug Lance did not hesitate to return it.


	4. Building Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Um ... well ... hi? It's been a while since I had to process season 7 in all its glory. Phew ...  
> It was kinda hard to wrap my head around this story after watching the latest episodes, then my little road trip started and somehow it's autumn.  
> But well, here comes the new chapter aka 5k word vomit of the last weeks. Enjoy!:)

4.

Lance woke up to Coran gently calling his name. At first disoriented, he didn’t understand that heavy weight which …

“Oh”, the word slipped over his lips, indicating his surprise as well as his contentment. Lance glanced down. He was trapped between Red and Keith, the latter clinging to his waist, their legs tangled up. Keith was still sleeping soundly but shifted with Lance's movement as if he feared that Lance would slip away.

“The Olkari mechanics asked me if everything was alright.” Lance flinched, ready to spill an excuse but Coran stopped him beforehand. Their so-called space uncle kneeled close to them; blocking curious gazes. “It’s alright, my boy, I’ve explained to them that Voltron has faced a lot of life-threatening situations so that you paladins feel the safest within your Lion’s vicinity or close to each other. No harm was done.”

Lance sighed and tried to stifle a yawn. He failed.

 

“Have the nightmares returned?”

He nodded. “Getting worse.”

Coran placed his fingers on one of Lance’s cheeks and turned his face, left, right, up and down, examining him briefly. “Try to take care of yourself, my boy.”

“I’m sorry, I …”

 “No, listen.” Coran ruffled his hair affectionately, very similar to the way Lance’s father had always done it. “I’ve lost my family within a glimpse. My wife, my son who was about to start a family of his own, my daughter who was as old as you in Altean standards. But Voltron gave me back seven children to love. So please, let me worry. Whatever happens, Lance, I’ve got you.”

The royal adviser stood up, his joints crackling with every move. But Coran simply twirled his mustache and gazed at his extended family member with a lovely warmth: “If you don’t believe my words, then take care of yourself for Keith.”

 

Belatedly, Lance realized the position they were still in. Keith had always said that he was a light sleeper but now he cuddled Lance like a stuffed animal. Watching him sleep, all relaxed and calm was still kinda cute and ...

“I’ve followed his actions the last days." Coran ripped Lance out of his praisings. Still, he was happy to ramble about Keith again. Even mentally. "He has read through all the logs and vlogs of the last months, especially yours, Lance. As if he couldn’t talk to you but wanted to re-establish your relationship.”

“There is no relation…”

“Whatever the appropriate Earth term it is …” Coran smiled slightly.

“All?” Lance suddenly squeaked, remembering the vlogs' content. How he fussed over missing  Keith, how he wondered if his fine ass was fine. “Those are available for everyone?" He whisper-shouted before he woke up Keith.

“For the Black Paladin, yes. He’s the team leader after all.” Coran ruffled Lance hair once more before he left. “I’ll see you two at breakfast.”

 

All his vlogs. All his vlogs. Lance tried desperately to remember what he did tell Red and the nothingness of his room within those vlogs. His personal recordings resembled a diary - he was talking freely and openly about ... everything. Which meant Shiro knew. And clone Shiro, too. He knew about all his insecurities and played them well ...

A peck on the cheek.

It was tender, it was soft. A budding blossom full of hope and love.

It stopped all of Lance's functions.

 

This couldn't be real. Keith would never return his feelings. He wasn't worthy, he wasn't strong enough, bold enough, caring enough. Keith would leave him, leave him for good. He was broken now but imagining the what-ifs of his and Keith's relationship as well as the breakdown that would eventually follow ... Lance would be left shattered.

He couldn't dare. This wasn't real. This wouldn't work.

Keith was just a friend. A friend. A friend.

He hadn't meant it, the astral plane did something to them ... anything. No one ever stayed, no one ever redeemed Lance worthy enough to keep.

 

"Good morning." Keith sat up, his arms still encircling Lance. He remembered the feeling of being held, of being engulfed in Keith. He wanted it back, even if it wasn't real. “In case you’re wondering, I’ve heard your poetic waxing about several parts of me.”

The answer plopped up without thinking too hard. “Damn you, mullet.”

“No need to pretend anymore that you don’t like my hair.”

But Lance got up hastily and started to walk to their respected area in the Olkarion city. "Come on, I'm getting hungry."

Keith fell into the pace of Lance's steps without effort. "Can I ask you something about those vlogs?"

"No."

It wasn't real. It never had. Still, he wished it could have been.

 

* * *

 

On purpose or not, Coran whistled when Lance and Keith entered the dining hall where the other paladins met for breakfast. Those two didn’t talk for long after he had Lance woken up, nevertheless, they were clearly late. Coran wondered if the princess or Shiro would scold them but he spotted Shiro’s soft smile when number two and three entered. He wouldn’t be harsh on them.

Allura just frowned and turned away to keep her conversation with Romelle going.

The other Paladins did not notice the happiness around Keith, almost as if he was glowing – despite arguing over something Coran couldn’t understand fully. General data processing rights? Humans had funny terms.

Sadly, Lance did not notice how the current leader of Voltron looked at him as he meant the whole universe. The last weeks had been harsh but Coran decided that Lance had suffered enough. He had to open the boy's eyes to Keith not-so-well-hidden affection.

The conversations were light, flowing and ebbing around Lance and Keith who were on their own little island, still, no one seemed to notice. As if they were avoiding Lance on purpose. Coran had witnessed the behavior more often lately. After several rejections, Lance had started to pull away before the others could lash out on him anymore. But Keith did not let him slip away, he eagerly followed, it was like a reversal of their first days as Paladins when Lance had been glued to Keith's side.

 

“... and afterward we can discuss our options with Rema. Do you agree, Keith?”, Allura asked. „Keith?“, she repeated.

It was Hunk who almost choked and coughed on his Olkarion version of sandwiches when Coran perked up. The Red and Black Paladin had fallen asleep at the breakfast table. Everyone had conquered sleep deprivation and exhaustion by now. Coran had seen Pidge sleeping in the weirdest angles at her workbench, Hunk snoring soundly in the middle of the common room, even Allura had napped not very royally on the communication stations when no one noticed. Nothing new so far.

But Lance had sunken against Keith, placing himself on the crook of Keith's neck. They almost fit too well with Keith’s head resting on top of Lance. Coran hid his smile behind a cup of this tea the Paladins liked to drink. “Both of them had trouble sleeping, princess. Let them rest for once, please.”

Yellow and Green seemed to think about it, something scratched at the surface.

It was about time.

“How do you know that?“

Coran twirled his mustache. „I asked, princess. I listened.” The words held no accusation but they sounded sharp.

„When did“, Pidge waved with her arm, „that happen? When did they start sleeping on each other?“

„Recently.“ This time it was Krolia answering. She didn’t hide her smile though. Coran sent her a silent nod. At least there were two people watching out now. He glanced at Shiro's general direction - probably three.

Coran took another glance at the Paladin’s sleeping forms. Glad, that Lance found a support which he couldn’t offer to the boy.

 

* * *

 

Keith was desperate.

What did he do wrong?

Keith had tried to support Lance, to help ease his insecurities, but somehow this caused Lance's walls to rise up even higher. They've talked about each others issues, they've kissed and made out in the astral plane by accident, they've cuddled and slept next to each other, ... - why was Lance avoiding him again?

Hadn't he made his intentions very clear?

Still, Lance left the room as soon as possible when Keith entered, he brushed him off and vanished without a trace. Black denied him to go into the astral plane, so Lance probably went there.

 

Two days passed after he had fallen asleep with Lance in his arm during breakfast. Two days no one seemed to notice what happened to the Red Paladin.

It was Shiro, on day three, who gave him an important hint. "The clone really messed with Lance, he was on the best way to completely destroy his self-esteem, that's why I've asked Lance to keep me company. We've talked, considering it's Lance he would not hold a grudge but I really wish for him to get past his trauma. That's why you should constantly remind him of your feelings, Keith. Be there for him, even if he pushes you away. Deep down he still thinks he still believes that nobody would want him for good."

Keith sputtered an incomprehensible answer, nodded and skidded off before his brother could elaborate on these feelings. But, thank you, Coran, for installing the tracking devices. They made the execution of his plans a lot easier.

 

Keith flopped himself next to Lance at their meetings or joint meals, engaging in conversations or at least trying to since he had never been the most talk-active.

Keith popped up where Lance played with some children of the Olkari, offering to play out the stories Lance spoke so fondly of. Shared memories of a time long ago which made Keith's heart fill up with longing.

Keith joined the ridiculous washing routine of the Lions, he offered to learn with Lance Altean although he was more fluent in the Galra language by now. ( The blades didn't care that he had been brought up on Earth, they never did.) Little by little Lance relaxed,  the scowling lessened and he seemed to stop expecting Keith to reject him. It was hard work, harder than he imagined, but by the end of their first week on Olkari, he had somehow re-established their friendship in the way before he disappeared within the quantum abyss. Still, they had duties to attend as Paladins of Voltron, had to oversee the progressing of the new wormhole generator Pidge and Hunk were building, but Keith always eagerly awaited his past-time which he would spend with Lance.

 

* * *

 

"Did Coran asked you to keep an eye on me?" Lance wondered as Keith showed up in the Lion's hangar interrupting one of his training routines.

"No", Keith answered honestly, yet suppressing a sigh. Did he still doubt his intentions? His mother had told him about the complex courting Galra (and especially Altean) woman appreciated - if he started to give Lance presents, gifts, and small trinkets, he would make the full deal. _Told you so_ , Black offered in the back of his mind but Keith brushed him away.

 

“I’ve heard your bayard can transform into several riffles now?”, he inquired, gaze roaming over Lance's body. Dressed in simple black pants Keith could take in Lance's naked torso, muscles flexed from light warm-up sessions. Whatever he did, it showed in lean, but well-built arms, which were mostly hidden under their armor. Lance wasn't bulky but had certainly gained strength.

“Watch me,” Lance said, sounding almost as cocky as he did months ago. "Otherwise you won't believe me.”

At first, Lance’s bayard transformed into the form Keith had seen a thousand times, although it had been colored in blue and white instead of red. Then, without any sign of concentrating, it switched into a long-range rifle. Lance developed to an actual sniper. He smirked, oozing confidence and suddenly his bayard transformed into a sword.

“Holy quiznak, how did you do that?”

“It’s an Altean broadsword like King Alfor once yielded. I unlocked it during training when the floating targets bombs encircled me faster than I could react.”

Keith eased closer, taking the elegant but strong form into account. “That’s amazing, Lance.”

He started as a sharpshooter, eliminating targets mid-range way faster and more precise than Pidge could manage with her weapon. He switched to long-range fighting, offering cover and support for the team before their attackers could reach them. And then, when nobody seemed to watch out for Lance on the battlefield since he was almost defenseless in close combat, he created a way to survive alone.

The facts were undeniable by now. Without a proper team leader to protect the right-hand man, Lance had strived to fight individually but also to be the most valuable for Voltron.

 

“Do you need someone to spar?”, Keith offered. “I can show a few tricks and help you train if you want.”

“I’m good, knife boy.” Lance’s laughter echoed through the hangar like a bell. Keith loved this sound more than he should. “I’m not that bad either, you know? But probably one on one combat would be nice, those drones tend to repeat their movement patterns.”

“Which level are you? I think I stopped somewhere in the mid-thirties.”

“Twenty-two”, Lance whispered, suddenly looking glum. "I'm probably no match for your ninja Marmora skills and ..."

 

"I've never used the black bayard for training, I've never used it because Shiro attacked me", Keith interrupted Lance as fast as possible; spilling the thoughts he wanted to keep for himself. "I don't know which appearance it will take, so, maybe, we can, I mean ..."

Lance's brows furrowed as if he wanted to detect the lie before he readied his sword. "Sure. We can try out a few things. I doubt someone will suddenly need me, so I can easily help you out. We can't have the head of Voltron damaging our reputation, can we?"

Again, he assumed to be not enough, to be cast aside and used. Habits were so hard to break.

Keith took a deep breath before he activated the black bayard Shiro entrusted to him. There was no turning back anymore. He needed to be a proper leader. For Voltron. For the alliance. For the boy in front of him who switched into his fighting stance with practiced ease.

Without a hitch, his bayard transformed into a blade similar to his Mamroran one, and Keith leaped forward.

 

He had never been the one who waited. He wouldn't wait for Lance to come around either.

They spared, they fought - _he's good_ , Keith suddenly realized, exchanging blows, going in for attacks, blocking Lance's counters. Blades clang on impact, they've danced in a whirlwind of swords, footwork sharp, blows swift and strong. Lance fought smart, the little flaws in his movements or lack of experience were only prominent for Keith who looked out for them. In a harsh, quick battle no one would have the time to analyze Lance.

He was intimidating but this was extremely fun! It couldn't be compared to Blade's training sessions. Kolivan always aimed for perfection, stealth, and power, where Keith was cast aside for being too small and fragile. This was inspiring, intoxicating, they were trying to pull out their best for each other, to show off their skills in a way only a sword fight provided.

 

In the end, experience won over motivation.

 

Catching his breath Lance toppled over. "That was intense." His chest was heaving, up and down, Keith was trying not to follow the paths of all those little sweat drops with his gaze. He wasn't out of breath, but his muscles tingled satisfyingly. How did he even concentrate when all he could think about now was Lance? Caramel brown skin just within his reach.

“You’re seriously good." Keith offered a hand and pulled Lance up. "Not long and you’ll make me draw.”

 

* * *

 

Lance face almost hurt from all the smiles and laughter Keith caused.

He was smiling, always smiling, when Keith was near him. It was like a spell, it was addicting, he wished so hard that Keith meant his actions for real.

Hands were drawn back slowly after Keith pulled him up as if the Black Paladin wanted the touch to linger a bit longer. Lance's skin tingled, his heart was pumping wildly, he almost felt the first small bruises from their fight but he was elated. Electrified.

Oh, how he wished he could smile like this. Always.

_You could_ , Red interjected but Lance brushed her away mentally.

“Who taught you all that? Allura?”, Keith inquired pulling up his sweaty hair in a loose ponytail. Something inside Lance shattered. Keith wasn't teasing him on purpose, was he? Because damn, that mullet looked hot with his hair up.

“No.” Lance picked out a small device from his back pocket, showing it to Keith. “Alfor himself, wait, I’ll show you.”

 

Lance placed it on the ground and tipped the surface softly. With a whirring sound, the Altean holo-projector sprung to life. “Green”, he asked. “Please hook up the projector and show us Alfor’s fight on Gamma R-18 against the local tribe from your perspective.”

He could hear Keith's small gasp, as the scene was shown, Alfor, life-sized and a bit blurry, appeared sword drawn in a similar stance as Lance. 

Again, he smiled. Satisfied and happy.

Around Keith, he was all smiles.

“Now, add Red’s perspective, too.” Next to the first Alfor, a second projection materialized showing the same fight but from the Red Lion’s angle. Sometimes the pictures flickered when the Lion’s focused on something else, but the sword movements were much clearer now. “Most of the Lion’s have detailed memories of their prior paladin’s fights and Red has a good bunch of videos of yours, too … So I studied the styles I could find and …”

 

Keith had been strolling around both Alfor's, watching the former King's attack with eyes sharp, highly concentrated. Then he almost flashed up right before Lance, gripping his shoulders tightly.

“Teach me.”

Violet eyes bore into Lance's gaze, faces only inches away. “Wh-what?” Lance wasn't sure what Keith meant. He invaded his private space, but Lance didn't pull away. Warm breath on cold skin. Lips within reach, oh so kissable, but Lance still hesitated. He didn't want to ruin the small things he gained in the last days. He didn't want to stop smiling.

“You heard me," Keith said and Lance blinked owlishly. "Teach me. Please.”

"Ye-yeah, sure." Finally, Lance took a step back, adjusting the projector in order to calm his nervousness and to brush of his silly thoughts. Keith wasn't crushing on him, was he?

It took Keith a few tries before he could follow the routine while Lance flowed through the movements like water. Proof of how often he had run through it.

At least he made it look like it was as easy as breathing. Inside his mind, accompanied with red's snickering, Lance focused on Keith's intensive stare, the eagerness to learn, and that firm ass, encased in tight, tight pants.

In hindsight, it was a miracle he didn't trip and stabbed himself.

 

* * *

 

“Impressive.”

Suddenly Allura stood beside them, watching her long passed-away father with tears in her eyes.

"Princess", Lance squeaked, hastily snatching the projector and ending the hologram. He never intended to show her this practice, that he used the old data of Alfor for improvement.

He didn't like the implications. He never asked if he was allowed to either.

Keith just clipped his transformed bayard to his belt. The princess wiped away a lonely tear before she stated her reasons for why she came down to the Lion's hangar. In the middle of a busy day, no less.

"Could I talk alone with Lance?", Allura asked directly addressing Keith.

The Black Paladin shrugged and with a sharp whistle, Cosmo appeared right beside him. Lance blinked and both of them had vanished somewhere.

Lance gulped uncomfortably. What was going to happen next?

"Lance", Allura faced him directly, a strong determination straightening her always perfect posture. "I'm sorry, it took me so long to realize."

"Princess, what ...?" He was dreaming, wasn't he? Allura's cheeks were colored in a ruby pink, similar to her armor.

“I've distanced myself since you said you were fine, but Shiro explained to me that earth people who say, they are fine, are mostly not.”

He should never have spoken to Shiro or Coran. Never ever. Those meddling space uncles and dads.

“I’m sorry, Lance, for not looking out and acknowledging you.”

Lance just made a sound of utter confusion. He wanted to hide in Red. Now. Please. Maybe Keith should teach him that little stunt he always pulled off with Cosmo.

 

“You’ve done so much for me. For the team.” Allura continued, fiddling with her braided hair. She was cute, in a way, still, Lance was on edge. He wanted to run, but he did not want to hurt Allura any further.

Clearly, the mice told her about his old, old crush and now she ...

The plastered smile on Lance's face was frozen and strained. But the princess didn't notice.

"I've come to say ... I wanted you to know." Allura's gaze bore into his. So full of determination Lance had to listen. "I care for you, Lance, I ... I like you."

Yes, he was dreaming.

"Um ... that's nice to hear, princess."

"That's your answer?" Allura asked bewildered. She clearly anticipated something different.

"Yeah ..." Lance rubbed his neck, showing his uneasiness. "Maybe I should clear up this little misunderstanding, princess. I liked you a lot, I mean, I've flirted with you a lot, but I never thought you would acknowledge me and so I settled with being friends and ..."

Allura scrunched her nose disapprovingly.

Lance took a deep breath. "You see ... I'm honored that you think you would reciprocate my feelings, but I'm afraid I'm not anymore. Um ... Red, for example, choose me because she saw my potential. You suddenly reached out to me because I've gained a level of potential that was appealing to you. You did not like me from the start since you've always brushed me away as if I was joking, you just liked what I've become and for me ... that's not enough."

Deep inside, Lance cried over this absurd situation. There had been a time when he would have kissed Allura on the spot after her confession. Where he would have been the happiest Paladin alive. But she never saw him suffer, she never cared enough. Yes, she had her own problems and always a lot on her plate, still, if she really liked Lance, there had been plenty of chances to talk with, to spent time with him, to pester him like ...

... like Keith had done the last days. Right after they had eliminated the prominent danger.

 

“Princess?”, Lance asked, voice small. “Did Keith talk with you about this?”

She shook her head. “No. It was Coran. In fact, he didn’t really talk to me, he was just hinting that you’ve been hiding from us.” She paused, pondering about Lance’s words. “I'll take this as a rejection?”

"Yes."

Something inside her crumpled but she did not waver. She's tougher than anyone else, Lance had to admit that. "I suppose this little talk will not affect the future missions?"

"Of course not. I'm sorry, princess."

"You are right, in a way, I ..." She enveloped him in a quick hug. "I still want to apologize that you suffered from my bond with Lotor." She spat his name out like venom.

Without waiting for a response Allura marched off.

 

Lance watched her leave and finally took a deep breath.

 

* * *

 

_Well, well, look what I've found_ , Red snickered through their mental connection. The Lion had shockingly behaved during Allura's confession. No side-comments, no remarks.

Now, Red lifted one of her paws, revealing Keith who toppled over without her.

"You traitor!", he shouted gathering his bearings. He had stayed. He had eavesdropped.

"Why?" Lance thought and said alike, wandering over.

"So ... you and Allura?" Keith didn't dare to look him in the eyes. "Are you together now? Congrats, that what you wan..."

"No, we're not." Keith turned on his heels at his answer, eyes wide. "I've liked Allura. A lot. But that's in the past now."

"Past ...?" Red set down her paw, in fact, she stretched out lazily as if she was blocking the way out. Both Paladins were surrounded by huge metal Lion legs from one second to the next.

Keith leaned against Red, taking in the support she offered.

"She's desperately searching for something or someone who is reminding her of Altea," Lance explained. He stopped right before Keith, just leaving as much as space as appropriate. "I can perfectly understand that, for her, it must feel like she lost everything she knew during a nap. But I want to be someone's first choice and I'm not her's. Lotor was, with his druid magic, rigid princely behavior, and sex demon voice. Nevertheless, she would always turn to Coran, her advisor, to Shiro, whom she trusts blindly, or even to Romelle, but never to me. Me, being kind of King Alfor's heir to the Red Lion, wielding an Altean sword and asking Coran about Altean culture ... somehow made me move into her awareness. Being a constant reminder won't do anything good though ..."

With a yelp Lance found himself pressed against Red's paw, Keith had flipped them over. Arms pushed up against the metal, Keith caged him and Lance tried not to let his thoughts wander too far below where ...

 

"Kiss me, Lance", Keith demanded.

Somehow the universe tried to grant him all his secret daydreams. In one quiznaking go. What a haste.

"What?" Lance should stop sounding like a broken record, otherwise, he wouldn't get anywhere.

_You're quite popular_ , Red purred.

"Shut up, Red!" Though Blue agreed with a hearty laughter, echoing _popular, oh so popular_. He was never going to sing with them again. "You, too, Blue. Just a few ticks of privacy, please!"

Those noisy two stayed silent for once.

Lance focussed back on Keith who had closed his eyes forcefully. Maybe he was talking with Black.

"I didn't want to rush or force you to anything in the astral plane", Keith started. "I need to make sure that you feel the same."

"Keith", Lance groaned when his crush shifted slightly in his position. Stupid vivid imagination, stupid Keith pining him down. "That's not how it's usually going, you can't just order me to kiss you."

It was absurd. Ridiculous. Allura's half-baked confession as well as Keith's short-tempered one. Still, Keith's temper had always had a really short fuse.

Lance, although he tried not to, stifled a laugh. No one ever wanted him and now a princess liked him for the wrong reasons and Keith, beautiful Keith couldn't decide which gear he wanted to drive with.

 

To Lance's surprise, Keith looked down at him, pouting. "I know I'm still bad at this emotional stuff, yet I liked you since the Garrison, Lance, and when I saw you and Allura, acting all ..."

"You are jealous!" Lance interrupted him.

"I am not ... I ..." Yes, he was. Another smile swept in, soft and joyful. "What's so hard to understand, Lance, why don't you just kiss me?"

"Why do I have to prove anything?", he replied, out of habit. "Keith, are we seriously bickering over who should kiss the other first?"

Lance couldn't contain his laughter anymore. With a frustrated groan, Keith placed his head on Lance's shoulder. Effectively, laying flush against the Red Paladin.

"We are both idiots."

"Kinda." Lance didn't mind though. In fact, his arms sneaked around Keith's torso, one hand playfully caressing his neck.

 

"You were the first one who knew exactly how to approach me and make me always respond." Keith started to confess. His breath was tickling Lance, lips were moving against his skin. "I've even ignored Shiro for a bit ... You are the first one who never left me behind although I behaved like a nasty shit sometimes, you are the first one who made me want to understand people's moods and bonds and relationships, you were my first thought every morning I woke up on the space whale, you ..."

Lance had clearly enough. He flipped Keith with force, regaining the upper position and pressed their lips together. Words were swallowed within a soft kiss until Lance started to move, to suck, thoroughly, making Keith shiver and melt under him.

"... were my first real kiss." Keith admitted, dazed and grinning happily.

And Lance decided to trust. After all, it wasn't a very hard decision anymore.

 

* * *

 

"Paladins! To your Lions!" Allura popped up right above Lance, startling him almost to another death. He often forgot the tracking device Coran had implanted to all of their clothes and the communicator with hologram functions which made those calls much easier. And much more annoying. "We've got a  distress signal of a nearby planet and ... Lance?"

Said Paladin sat up grumpily and rubbed his neck; swollen lips pouting.

"What are you doing in your Lion half-naked?", the princess asked bewildered.

"I've taken a nap?" Little white lies always went smoothly.

"Well, a Galra fleet appeared on Rhonaton, which we'd deliberated right at the start of the Alliance. Dress and be ready in a tick."

Lance did not say that he was clearly remembering their former stay at the planet. Allura wouldn't believe it anyway.

"Yes, princess. Keith is in Black, strengthening their bond, I'll go tell him."

"Copied." The window disappeared and a deep exhale was heard.

 

"That was close," Keith muttered under his breath, laying as flat as possible on Lance's little make-shift bed in Red. Ninja-Keith who fled under the covers as fast as a lightning in order to be out of Allura's sight. Beautiful Keith, who sat up in fluid motion and looked for his clothes, which magically disappeared during the last hours. Except for his black training pants. Making out, Lance had left hickeys everywhere but restrained himself to go any further than the waist-line. There was no rush, besides, he would never be tired of Keith's flushed face, the disheveled mop of hair and the deeply-red, swollen lips.

The Red Paladin had left his markings all over his surprisingly soft skin.

Lance should stoop swooning, though, otherwise, he might get into trouble during the upcoming fight.

Indeed, Red chuckled through their always-open connection.

"I wouldn't mind continuing later", Lance pressed a kiss on Keith's temple, "but now we have to go, leader."

“Lance”, Keith fidgeted uneasily and tried to lace their fingers but stopped beforehand. Now, he was embarrassed. Cute. “Are your starting to believe that you are important? To me?”

“Yeah, it’s nice to hear.” Lance, suddenly feeling brave, didn’t hesitate. He picked up Keith’s hand and pressed a kiss against his knuckles, enjoying the redness he elicited on his cheeks. “I liked your almost-confession the most, though.”

“Almost …” Keith gasped.

 

“You’ve listened to my vlogs …” Lance declared, voice serious but overflowing with emotions. “I love you, Keith, I really do.”

“I … I …” Keith stumbled, shocked and embarrassed.

“It’s okay, don’t force yourself.” He let Keith’s hand slip through his fingers.

“But I …”

“You felt it, too, didn’t you? In the astral plane everything seemed clearer, meanings are understood without words, words are full of meaning. I already knew how you feel, but I didn't dare to hope it was real. So, take your time, mullet, I’m more than happy if you just stay.”

Unfortunately staying wasn’t an option for the paladins when a Galra fleet was in their way which might or might not be the cause for some Paladins losing their Lions.

 


	5. The Sixth of the Pack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, here we are. This is the end. 41 days till Season 8 though and it's f*cking AGONY. ( Plus, Miraculous Ladybug Season 2 will end in a few hours ... )  
> Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy the last part as much as I did writing it. Tell me if you're happy with my little resolution. It was my first time writing a space action scene ... did it turn out okay? :)

5.

 

It was a trap, Lance thought, racing through space with Red before any of the smaller Galra fighters could reach him. It was a fucking trap.

He wasn't the one to swear lightly, brought up with a dozen younger siblings and cousins, he'd soon realized colorful phrasing would be more appreciated. Still, it was a fucking trap that called him away from cuddling with Keith within the secrecy of the Red Lion.

Oh, he would rather let his fingers fly over Keith’s scars, new and old, the smooth patches of white skin and that thick, inky mullet he had come to love. Instead he gripped his controls harder, pressing buttons and checking the flashing signs on Red's displays.

 _Focus,_ Red growled, a little bit annoyed even, _my paladin_.

"Will do", he mumbled. His newly learned Altean vocabulary came in handy, still, he didn't like what he read on all those flashing screens. They were running low on power, but the damage was tolerable up until now.

 

"We're outnumbered!", Hunk cried via their open communication channel. "Have the Garla ever been this vicious before?"

"No, I don't remember these weapons or ships", Allura provided the dreadful answer easily, no sign of fear. Yes, they had vanished quite a long time thanks to the time warp, whatever, still Lance had never anticipated that the Garla would reach a whole new level of deadly.

Before the incident with Lotor there had always been a chance to escape, to catch a loophole out of their messes. Now, their Lions were as effective against those new deep purple lasers as flies against a swatter.

Lance had settled on the back of their formation, flanking Black, in order to get a better overview, to grasp the on-going battle.

"Any ideas how to turn tables?", Keith asked. Even without the video feed, Lance knew he was grinding his teeth.

"Working on it, my scans aren't complete." Pidge chimed in before she continued to discuss their strategy with Coran who stayed behind with Shiro and Krolia.

“The Lions lost a lot of power, I don’t like this turn of events”, Hunk added another problem to their way too long list.

Lance could feel Red itching to sprint forward, to help, to shred those ships into pieces, but he reigned her in.

 

Hours ago, the distress signal from Rhonaton reached Olkarion asking Voltron for help since the rumors of them being back started to filter through the universe. But instead of some troops on the ground or battleships encircling the planet … fucking armadas of Garla cruisers apparently had occupied the planet again and threatened the inhabitants until they contacted the coalition. Yes, Lance was beyond pissed by that move.

The five Lions managed to shift the fights away from the planet and its moons, but soon they were forced onto the rims of an asteroid belt, far bigger than Green’s scanners could get through.

Cruisers were hiding behind asteroids, shooting from the back, trying to separate them and capture them one by one. At the moment, Hunk was barely protecting Pidge and Green, Allura fought with all her might waiting for Lance to re-join her side.

 _There are too many_ , Yellow’s voice plopped up.

 _We still need the castleship as our back-up_ , Blue was rumbling low and angrily. _It’s still too early to unlock all of our powers._

Green joined in. _We would kill our paladins with the quintessence outage._

 _My paladin?_ This was Red, waiting for a reply from him.

_As I hate to say it, our safety is the priority now. If we die, Voltron will die with us._

A rush of energy infiltrated Lance’s mind, like a paw stroking his head. _Well spoken._ Black never bothered to talk much.

“I agree with Black”, Keith replied. Suddenly Lance felt a warmth Red’s quintessence could never elicit.

Keith understood. Keith bonded enough with Black to be let in the cycle of the Lions. Lance wasn’t a lonesome exception anymore. He could share. And, by all means, he would.

But they needed to stay alive at first.

"It's probably not the option you would like to hear", Lance started, "but I'm voting for a tactical retreat."

“As I said, I ag—“

"Paladins!", Allura's voice ripped through Keith's answer. "I need help! They’re dragging me off."

 

“Keith, I’ve got a good grasp on Blue’s quintessence, we are following her.”

“Copy that. We’ll watch your back.”

 _They will,_ Red sounded pleased. Even after pairing up with Lance she had always a soft spot for Keith.

Lance chased after Allura, concentrating on Blue’s quintessence during maneuvering through the asteroid belt. Red was the fastest, she easily dodged and turned and flew through the tiniest holes, panels, and controls vibrating with joy under Lance’s fingers. Still, they both were aware of the danger ahead. They shot down some of the smaller fighters that were tailing Allura.

“We’re on the other side of the belt”, Pidge informed them. “Something’s jamming Green’s scanners.”

Keith answered before Lance could, who was still engaged in a fight. “Down there in a tic. Re-group, guys.”

Making the last fighter crash into an asteroid Lance guided Allura through the belt and soon they reached the other side, too. The deadly rocks now shielded them from the Galra, at least for a little while. An uninhabited planted glittered peacefully under them.

“They’ll just wait until we emerge again”, Allura said glumly as they were shuffling into a hiding spot.

“We could round the planet and escape through the back door”, Keith offered.

The discussion went back and forth until the others decided to follow Keith’s idea.

 

Lance, as always, fell back in formation, watching out for the rest. It was his habit as a sniper and because of Red’s agility. In a split second, the moment in-between a blink, warning signs flashed on the displays and Lance closed his eyes to observe through Red’s. A single cruiser had been brave enough to graze the belt in order to catch up with the Lions. A single cruiser shot a fully charged laser at Pidge and Green.

_Red._

His Lion didn’t need any more instructions.

 

Lance knew from the emergency flashlights that Red was low on power, but she was the fastest. If he died saving the others his life had at least a purpose.

The controls burned under Lance’s fingers, still, he watched through Red’s eyes propel forward. Faster, a little faster. Red’s quintessence flowed like lava through his veins, but this time it wasn’t in order to fuel him, the current went both ways, ebbed and flowed, mixed between them, as if Red was pulling Lance deeper into her very being. The circuit closed, full-power mode and Red took and took and took …

Lance felt drained, burned, like the last drop of water in a scorching desert but he didn’t mind evaporating. Red would never risk his life on purpose, he trusted Red to cut off the stream in time.

Somehow, with a bit of luck, they managed to push Green out of the way. The Lion tumbled through space, a split second later Lance was engulfed in a beam of cold, cold violet light.  

 

* * *

 

“Lance!”, Keith cried, still in shock. “Lance! Respond!”

Red was shutting down, eyes flickering as if she fought to stay awake. The impact of the laser damaged her gravely and pushed her down into the gravity field of an unknown planet. Lance and Red started to descend, still unresponding.

Keith tried to flick on the video feed of Red but nothing worked. “Damn it! Lance!” The harsh, screeching screams, Lance hurting, Red cracking and twisting as if she was breaking apart – Keith saw the nightmares already coming.

“Blue’s having trouble, too”, Allura announced. “But I think I can destroy the cruiser first.”

The other paladins decided to take down the battlecruiser above them, already set out to move when Keith dove after Red. He could hear the shouts of the other three. Clearly. It was reckless, heck, it was totally reckless, still, all he could think about was that damn vision he saw during his stay in the quantum abyss.

 _We’re going down._ Black agreed. He sounded worried, too.

Black caught Red before her speed accelerated too much, slowing her fall and placing the Red Lion almost gently on the rocky surface of the planet. But Red who always sat perfectly poised slumped down, collapsed on the side; unmoving.  

“YAS!”, the victorious screams sounded through the coms but were soon exchanged with worry. “Green’s not responding.” – “Yellow’s descending on his own, like on auto-pilot.” – “I’ve … what? Blue is shutting me out! The energy level is really low and …”

Keith was already sprinting out of his cockpit when the ground shook like an earthquake. Sloppily and with too much impact, the Lions crashed down near to Red and Black, eyes glimmering faintly before shutting down.

"I’m checking on Lance first.” He needed to see Lance, he needed to be sure. The atmosphere was breathable so Keith ripped off his helmet, shutting off the coms effectively, and climbed into Red’s maw. “

The team decided to head out and scan the area though.

It was faint, only a whisper, but Keith could hear the other Lions disapproving.

 

* * *

 

Keith found Lance laying in a pool of his own blood, thrown across the confined space, he landed face down. The ghostly, thin and worn-out version of the joyful boy he came to like months ago made Keith’s heart almost stop. His vision on the space whale had turned into reality. “I’m sorry”, Keith started to babble, tears threatening to fall. Lance’s helmet lay several meters apart, visor cracked. “I’m sorry, I didn’t notice your absence sooner, I’m sorry, Lance.”

He kneeled down, gently stroking through Lance curls, before he turned the lifeless body. “I’m here, Lance, I’ve rushed here, do you hear me? Lance? Please, don’t go where I can’t follow.”

It wasn’t fair. An hour of bliss and the universe decided to rip his happiness out of his hands?

No, it wouldn’t.

Keith refocused on the situation at hand, bending over Lance. A faint breath tickled on his skin, Lance was alive; barely but still. Frantically, Keith looked for severe injuries and found an ugly deep gash at Lance temple which bled like hell.

“Keith …”

“Yes!” He almost jumped in the little space. “I’m here, Lance, it’s going to be alright. You’re stuck with me.”

“Is Pidge safe?”

“Yes, she is. You did great whatever crazy stunt you pulled. Can you stand up?”

“I feel like I’ve could sleep for a week.” He slurred his words, sounded exhausted. “Hey, gorgeous, wanna cuddle with me for a week?”   

 

* * *

 

In the end, Keith patched Lance up with the first aid kit every Lion was equipped with. Still, the Red Paladin looked awry. Pupils dilated, swaying lightly. “When was the last time you ate?” They had been busy, splitting up for meals the team would have always taken together during calmer times. Well and today their mouths had been busy doing other … stuff.

“Don’t know”, Lance mumbled. “My day cycle is a bit off due to the journey. I’m not hungry in the astral plane …”

Lance was stumbling out of Red, but Keith could easily see how nauseated he was. Still, he took a moment to stand frozen in his spot. The Red Lion was still lying unconsciously on the ground, Black sitting like a guard at her side. But the other ones had gathered around them. Although the other paladins complained about losing power and control, although they’ve crashed, the Lions formed a loose circle now, heads towering high.  

 _We decided to stop the fight._ Black’s voice rang through Keith’s thoughts. _The other paladins were wrong._ Neither Allura, Hunk nor Pidge were in sight, they probably still scouted the area.

“Lance, how did you safe Pidge?” Keith asked, cautiously helping Lance limp down the ramp. “You flew like a red flash, faster than any eye could follow.”

Lance tried a crooked smiled. “Red used my quintessence like a battery. I gave her an additional power boost, a quick recharge; she almost short-circuited my system since my emotions weren’t stable. Don’t try this with Black, you’ll die, Keith.”

He didn’t like how casual Lance spoke about dying one bit.

 

Without further notice, Yellow appeared in front of them, jaw wide open to enter. It took a few ticks before Keith realized that most of the supplies were loaded into Yellow’s huge belly. So Keith dug through the boxes and packages to hunt down energy bars and that gooey nutritional drink that tasted like molten gummi bears.

Back into the night, Black and Yellow instantly shifted to provide the most cover from cold gushes of wind the planet offered to them. Lance had already placed himself next to Red’s nozzle, the lion lying as flat as possible on the ground. Keith never wondered whether the Lions were alive like other beings but when he reached his former Lion a gentle warm breeze met him, it stopped, the breeze pulled back and blew out again as if Red was breathing ( and apparently being a heater for Lance).

Blue and Green took the flanks and watch out for possible enemies while Keith tended Lance, propped him up and coaxed him to eat at least a few bites.

“How’s Red?” Keith pulled Lance against his side, after the initial shock he needed to touch, to be reassured.

“Re-charging. She’s damaged badly though.”

 

* * *

 

Keith jerked awake when the team came back from wherever they had been.

“What’s happening? Why did you shut down your com?”, Pidge’s voice asked through the darkness before a gentle light spread over the rocky den. “Why are Green’s and Blue’s particle barrier up?”

It took a few ticks before Keith realized that the barriers overlapped to secure a bigger part of the environment. To keep Lance safe. Stunned, but determined, Keith shifted out of Lance’s embrace, already missing the warmth and the touch.

He walked straight to the other paladins, yet remaining inside the barriers. At first, Hunk tried to approach, but almost instantly Yellow’s barrier went up, too.

“Keith?”, Allura demanded roughly, “Care to explain what caused this?”

“Care to explain where you have been?” He had enough. He was so fed up.

“Exploring.” Pidge shrugged. “Luckily the Galra must have thought we’ve escaped on the back side of the asteroid belt which is still jamming my scanners and communication to Olkari. We have no signal.”

“Lance has almost crashed into the surface after rescuing you, Pidge. Red looks like she had a car crash with a truck and he’s gotten an awful cut at his head.” Keith took a deep breath. “So, one more time. Care to explain why you left him behind like he’s a bother to you?”

He could hear Hunk gasp. He could hear Allura and Pide dodging his question since Lance could clearly take care of himself, they thought he would eventually follow …  

An odd sensation rushed through him, he always felt Black in a distant corner of his mind, no matter how far he was away. But it’s like a dam breaking, the irritated hot feelings of Red rushed inside his mind, followed by a gentle wave that represented Blue, worried and agitated. In the farthest corner of his mind, he could even hear Yellow and Green but they’re like whispers in a storm of emotions that Red and Blue were causing.

 

“Is he okay, Keith?” Hunk cracked first, naturally, caring and gentle soul he was.

 “I don’t know, he’s hiding it from me.” Keith answered truthfully. “Lance kept shut over a lot of injuries, problems, bad dreams, insomnia and panic attack all those last months, apparently. Instead of further burdening the team with his weaknesses, he says so himself, not me”, he added quickly.

Hunks gasp turned into a whimper, he sounded like a beaten-up puppy.

“He started to strengthen his bond with Red and somehow all of the Lions, too. They included him in their pack …” Keith closed his eyes listening to the rumble in his thoughts. “Because they very own paladins were too occupied to care either for him or the Lions.”

Keith stopped but not because of the utter bewilderment shown on the team’s faces. Instead, he turned to Red and Black. “So you’re a pack? Sentinent lions form packs, too?”

There was a rush of wind, a growl and a swirl of emotions that caused him to take a few steps back. “Thanks, Blue. You lions are a pack, alright. Seriously, I’m not doubting anything anymore.”

Allura interfered instantly. „You are talking to Blue?“

“Yes. I am. She’s livid by the way.”

“What are they saying?” By now, Hunk was equally afraid and worried. “What are they saying about Lance?”

 

Keith listened closely to the Lion’s complains, before he repeated them. “Since I’ve vanished with the blades and it seems like the rest of the team neglected Lance more and more. Oh, nice, I’m also included into that accusation …” Keith wrinkled his nose at Red, almost poking out his tongue. His old lion knew very well why he left so suddenly. “But after Lance’s death at the radiation shield … his what?”

He spun to the rest of the team, focusing on Allura. “Lance died? Why didn’t anyone tell me?”

“I brought him back.” Allura did not even waver when replying. “He brushed it off and we didn’t have the time to …”

“Of course he would brush it off”, Keith suddenly raged, “Lance is the type of person who would go lengths for everyone he cares for but would never ask seriously for any help. He’s still thinking that bothering you with his ‘silly’” he quoted on air, “problems is a sign for weakness, you big idiots!”

“Keith.” This time it’s Pidge who reigns him in. She’s oddly calm. “Please, repeat what the lions are saying.”

“They … they’ve decided to reprimand all of you until you make amends, change your behavior and treat Lance better.”

 

“Why are you allowed in?”, Allura demanded to know.

“Well, I …” Keith could not help but blush. Red probably felt that he had been enamored with Lance since the beginning, watching with interested how the tiny crush developed into something amazing. And since Black invited Keith to the astral plane he’s pretty sure that his emotions were no secret anymore. Besides, his very own Lion set them up to kiss …

Keith just had needed time to figure himself out. He never wanted to leave Lance for good, he never intended to stay away for all those months. He missed him dearly during those two years of no contact outside of the whale.

“I assume you’ve already treated his injuries?” Hunk’s question pulled Keith out of his thoughts and he nodded vaguely. But then Hunk just walked through the particle barrier, face set in grim determination, as he speeded up and stopped right beside Lance’s sleeping figure. Keith moved aside as he watched how Hunk fussed over Lance, almost like a fretting mother figure he certainly tended to be.

 

* * *

 

When Lance woke up he did not know where he was. It took him several minutes to blink the sleep away and rub his eyes before he recognized the sterile but very green hospital rooms of Olkari. Somehow, those aliens managed to mix a medical environment with plants and trees - almost like fusing it to a futuristic forest. Machines were beeping; displays in a language Lance didn't speak were monitoring his condition. So far, he only needed to listen to his steady heartbeat. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. He was alive. Somehow he had survived another battle, another step leading him home.

Ba-  still, Lance was alone -dump.

His back hurt, his limbs very heavy, he was breathing labourly and it felt like he had been asleep for months since his thoughts were slick and slow - the fact to be abandoned again felt like a knife stabbed into his back though.

No one cared. No one waited for him. Not even Keith.

Keith. Lance realized belatedly that Keith could have been injured, too, maybe he was lying in an identical hospital room. Maybe he was too sick to be with him, maybe the Garla captured him because Lance hadn't been there to protect him, maybe he was the only one who survived, maybe Keith had died. Maybe he had been blasted into dust when Lance had been unconscious and ...

 _Keith is alive_ , Red, a low rumble, appeared inside his thoughts, their connection instantly filling him with warmth. 

"But?" Lance croaked, with scratchy and dry throat from not using his voice.

_But you'll see soon. It's been almost three days. Things are changing._

 

Lance could not answer anything since the door to his room swooshed open, revealing Pidge in the doorway.

"Lance!", she cried, leaping to his bed in big strides and jumping on top of him which caused Lance to yelp from pain.

"You're awake." The girl mumbled, glasses askew and huge tears dropping onto Lance beddings. Apparently, the Olkari loved to wrap themselves in puffy and cozy blankets. Save and warm.

"You're finally awake." His awareness snapped back to Pidge who laid down over his legs. "Green said you are up but I had to see it myself."

She clutched onto him, holding him in place, holding onto him like a lifeline, fearing he would disappear. As far as Lance appreciated the sentiment he was beyond confused. He expected Pidge to yell at him or to give him a snarky comment about being a failure.

"What's happening? Is everyone okay?", he asked slowly.

"Yeah, they are. They all are." She sniffed, her small shoulders trembling lightly. "I'm sorry, Lance, I'm so sorry, Lance."

"Okay?" Out of instinct, having several sisters helped, too, Lance petted Pidges wiry hair cautiously. After the first impact Pidge felt incredible light, she was a paladin, like everyone else, but sometimes Lance forgot that behind her rough appearance a sixteen-year-old girl was hidden, too small for the burden of defending the universe.

"I've talked with Green", she tipped her head in shame, "or he lectured me for three hours, to be precise."

 _See?_  Red chuckled mentally.

Lance cringed under Pidge's weight. He had forgotten to ask the most important question. _How are you, my beautiful girl?_

 _Fine._ Short. Abrupt. _Wouldn't mind if those noisy brats would leave me alone instead of trying to repair me._

 _In human terms,_ Blue's voice was distant but soothing _, she is having a headache._

Lance smiled and brushed them aside for a while. He had another crying girl to deal with.

Pidge studied him with a glint in her eyes. Her curiosity was awoken again, although she rubbed off the trails her tears had left. "You are talking to them, aren't you? Green told me, you do. But all I can hear is Green. He said ..."

"She." Lance said automatically. "Aside from Black, they are all female."

 _I'll never talk to her if she's that dense. Couldn't discern male from female_ , Red hissed.

"Are they?"

Lance nodded and Pidge threw herself backwards pressing her balms on her eyes. "That's so stupid of me."

 _Indeed._ Ever so sarcastic Red.

Lance’d never thought that the girl would use this adjective on herself. She was far from stupid, she was brilliant, the most hard-working person Lance knew, but her focus made her sometimes harsh and unlikeable.

 _She was so upset_ , Green explained, her voice smaller then Red’s. Like a rustling of leaves in the wind. _I thought she would realize it by herself when we met one day in the astral plane. Thought if she was curious she would keep talking to me._

Pidge sat up again, this time more carefully to avoid Lance. "I was bullied in school, you know. Total cliché, the girl who was too smart for the rest of the class, who stood always out, Matt helped me through it, he was the one who showed me that it was okay to be different, to be special. But ..." Her gaze bore into Lance's. "I didn't realize that I've started to act like those bullies who tortured me, who made me feel out of place. I'm sorry, Lance, I've never wanted you to feel dumb or less important than the rest of us."

He chocked on his own words. What... when ... why?

 _We've decided it was too much to bear anymore._ Red explained on cue.

Blue added ruefully. _We've almost lost you a second time._

Ever so lightly, the prescense of Black, Green and Yellow brushed his conciouness, re-assuring Lance.

"I'm so sorry, Lance." Pidge continued, unaware of the discussion inside of Lance's thoughts. "You are different as me or Hunk, but that doesn't mean you are anything less. It's good to be different, you excell at sharpshooting, you are kind, you always look out for us. All I can look out for was Rover, and we all know how that ended ..."

"Pidge ..."

"I was so used being alone because of my intellect that it was a nice change to have Hunk, who actually understood me and could follow my way of thinking." She continued yet. "But I did not relaize that I've pushed you away. I didn't realize that I was cruel to punish you for being different than me. You teased me like Matt, you played videogames with me like Matt, you made sure I ate like Matt and my parents did, especially when I thought I've lost them forever. So, in conclusion, I behaved like shit to my kind of second brother and I ..."

"Katie", Lance inserted, shutting her finally up. "It's okay."

"No, it's not! You've almost died from exhaustion and malnutrion when you pulled that stunt and I didn't notice. You would have been dead, gone, no way of getting you back."

Lance decided to let the comment of his first resurrection drop.

 

"The lions were furios, Blue is still not responding to Allura, acutally she is shouting all of her frustration out in the hangar right now ..." Pidge chuckled lightly. "But I've analyzed the situation and came to one logical conclusion."

"Okay? Tell me."

"Voltron kind of gave me a second family, we all needed the support of a family, especially in space, but everyone was some kind of lost when our journey started." Pidge nodded furiously. "So I've decided something like this will never happen again. I can't turn the whole universe upside down for my first brother, but do not look out for my second one."

"Come here", Lance beknocked her, arms spread wide open. "Give me a hug and we are good."

Pidge took the offer willingly. "You have to tell me, though, Lance. I suck at reading human code, so, you have to tell me, if somethings bothers you. I'll promise not blow up everytime. Really, I promise."

After all this time, when Lance felt out of place and cast aside, he felt delighted to gain this kind of affection again. Yes, Keith and he ... well, they shared a different time together, but Pidge really was like a sister for him. Like a more snarky version of Veronica, who lashed out more, but considering she would be willing to acknowledge him more ... even a little bit Lance would always take care of her.

He just needed a proof of beeing needed. That he was indeed important and not a waste of space.

 

"So Allura's yelling at Blue?"

"Yeah."

"Oh my. I'll talk to her later and see if I can do anything."

"You're not allowed to leave untill ..."

"I meant Blue."

"Oh. So you can talk to them." Pidge settled beside him, snuggling up in a way she probably never did before. Maybe she sought him out this closely because he needed the comfort. It would be a huge change if she recognized his longings. "Tell me. How is it like? How does it feel? How could you power up Red with your quintessence connection alone although you’ve been like an empty battery at that moment? There’s no scientific explanation for it.”

Questions over questions toppled out of her mouth, a steady stream, which Lance tried to answer honestly. He didn't mind sharing his experiences with the Lions, Lance didn't brag though - if all the paladins develloped a connection like he did with Red and Blue they would profit from it.

They would be stronger. The chances to win would increase. They would reach home ... one day.

"Lance?", Pidge asked. "Are you tired?"

"No, keep going."

“How's that astral plane Shiro and Keith mentioned?"

Instead, Pidge was falling asleep over his stories. Although Lance stopped in the middle of re-telling how Green taught him Altean, he felt light-hearted and at peace. Somehow, he was re-admitted into their tight-knit circle, maybe he had never been pushed away in the first place.

Somehow, Pidge had abandoned her work to keep him company.

 

* * *

 

Keith tried to run as fast as possible without spilling the contents of his tray. An hour ago, Lance had woken up from his comatose sleep, but Coran had forgotten to notify him immediately. Maybe it was Shiro’s doing, his older brother had coaxed him to leave Lance for a little while since Coran would contact him in a blink of an eye.

Shiro only meant well, he really needed a shower, Kosmo needed a walk, a little bit of fresh air – still, Keith didn’t like the facts. He was more absent in Lance’s life than part of it.

Upon entering the first thing Keith noticed was a sleeping Pidge huddled to Lance’s side. He hadn’t been completely alone then. Thanks, universe.

 _We made sure of it_ , Black’s voice sounded like a deep growl. _Red told Green, since her paladin needed to sort out some issues._

This started to resemble a pack more and more, Keith figured. And Lance was the very much protected child – hopefully, the Lions never started to go all parent on him when their very fresh relationship progressed.

_You are all our cubs. Tiny, fragile beings._

The black lion tended to express his feelings very awkwardly in a Shiro-ish kind of way.

 

Lance’s appearance had changed during the last days. The Olkari had given him some mixture of all the essentials a human body needed. The dark patches under his eyes vanished slowly his ghostly skin developed a rosy-brown shade. Still, he looked hollow. Keith had never seen Lance this pale. Why hadn’t he noticed sooner or did the quintessence outburst caused this downfall of Lance health?

"Lance? Are you awake?", Keith asked in a hushed tone. Maybe Lance had fallen asleep again.

Ocean-blue eyes looked up at the greeting. "Keith, h-hi ... how are you?" The words sounded strained, as if Lance did not want to express his real feelings. Again.

Keith wouldn't let him do that anymore.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't here, when you woke up." Lance flinched but forced a smile on his face.

"Stop doing that."

"What?"

"Stop smiling if you don't feel like it. At least with me."

"But I ..." Lance shoulders slumped. "I'm angry with me since I thought you didn't care enough to wait for me wake up but ... I don't like those thoughts, I want to stop thinking that ... so badly but ..."

"Then stop." Keith came further into the room, placing his tray down. "And if you need proof I can show you Coran's tracking traces. I'll prove it to you as often as you need."

"N-nooo, it's okay. You’re here." Lance gave him a once over. "You seem fine."

"A few scratches and a heart-attack finding you in a pool of your own blood."

Lance closed his eyes as if he was expecting a harsh scolding.

"I'm not mad."

"You're not?"

"I'm glad we made it in time to help you." Keith admitted. "But I would have been mad at you till the after life if you had died because of something like forgetting to eat. Hunk is stress-cooking since hours, expect to be well-fed from now on."

"That sounds like him." As on cue, Kosmo teleported inside the hospital room, a blanket was carried carefully by his very sharp teeth. Kosmo spared Lance a glance, yipped happily and then rolled himself into the blanket. Gaze on the door, as if he had to keep guard.

"Kosmo wanted some food and decided it was time for me to eat as well", Keith admitted. "On the way, I've bumped into Shiro who threatened me to shower and change clothes since you'd probably appreciate a clean version of me and ..."

Lance gaze caught the still dripping wet mullet and the tray Keith placed awkwardly on the small coffee table further in the room. Some snacks for Kosmo toppled next to a few Olkari sandwiches, two sets of plates, cups and a can of Olkari green leaves juice.

"I love any version of my boyfriend", Lance said teasingly, realzing too late, that Pidge was sleeping at his side.

Keith blushed scarlet and ushered to the bed. "Can I help you somehow? Are you hurting? Or should I ..."

"Help me untangle from Pidge without waking her up?”

“Of course.” He would do anything to ensure Lance recovered swiftly.

 

Somehow they managed to move Pidge further into the bed so that she started cuddling Lance’s pillow instead. Deep asleep she resembled more the young girl she should have been without a galactic war interfering.

To Lance’s surprise, Keith pulled him into his lap. They almost didn’t fit onto the small chair but Keith turned Lance’s body with ease until his legs were resting on the chair next to them and Lance curled up against Keith. He never expected anything. Keith’s strong arm encaging him and sharing wonderful body heat was like a dream come true. He had always been a touchy person, every member of his family was, so being engulfed in Keith’s warmth, his scent, few droplets of water dripping down from his still wet hair – all his waiting finally had paid off. Somehow.

 _Patience yields focus._ Red snickered and Lance smiled at her ever present voice within his thoughts.

“I’m glad you’re okay.” He was still exhausted but more awake than ever.

“If you want to be okay, too, you should start eating.” Without warning, Keith pushed a sandwich into Lance’s hand, poured them juice and waited till he finished the first one before he grabbed one for himself.

 

Blushing heavily, Lance ate obediently though and tried not to think to hard about Keith shifting their position until both of them were comfortable. The silence stretched but it wasn’t a heavy one. For once, Lance didn’t feel left alone.    

“Do you remember anything? By chance?”

“It’s hazy.” Lance tried not to meet Keith’s gaze. “I remember the impact, your voice telling me to stop Red from crashing down. You cried because you thought I was dead.” He could feel Keith gulping for air, grasping him tighter. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

Shakingly, Keith started to explain the visions he had encountered during his trip on the space whale. “I’ve seen memories of my mom and dad when I was a baby but also how she is going to teach Coran and Allura how to make the best BBQ some time in the future … probably. I’ve seen you, hugging a woman who looked an awful lot like you and then pulling me towards you, talking in rapid Spanish.” 

Lance took a deep breath before he started to sniffle. Even the possibility to meet Veronica again would be more than enough. Even if it was just a flicker of hope in too many galaxies out there.

“You think we’ll make it back to Earth? I’ll see my sister again?”

“Yes, Lance, you … we will get back to your family. Fuck quantum mechanics and multiversities, we will.” He felt Keith tense, something was bothering him, so Lance started to drew small circles on Keith’s back. Out of instinct, out of habit? He didn’t know. “But one time I’ve seen how I race to Red, frantic and full of worry, because you are lying on the floor in a dangerously huge pool of your own blood.”

 “And you found me like this on the planet?”

Keith nodded solemnly.

“It was too short to determine whether you lived or not so I am not certain if all the visions became true, but …”

“I’m really looking forward to your Mom’s BBQ.” Lance interrupted him and let his fingers trail to a plate with warm alien cookies. His stomach was still rumbling from hunger but he would have continued to eat just to reassure Keith that he was recovering.

Keith placed his head on top of Lance’s and just breathed. In and out. Quiet and calm. This moment was real, this was really happening. Lance knew this kind of thoughts too well and inched closer.

Being alive and together was certainly enough.

 

" Lance vitals say that he's awake, so I ..." Hunk let go of the tray and covered his eyes as quickly as possible. “Oh my ... I haven’t seen anything!”

Keith’s reply stopped in the middle of his throat and turned into laughter. The assumed crash never came since the Olkarion tray hovered in the air, saving Hunk’s equal to Earth dunots, tea and sandwiches.

"It's okay, buddy." Lance answered for them, since Keith would never push him to reveal their relationship. "You probably knew before I did.”

“Of course I did! Are you decent, guys? I mean after all this pining, I could understand if …”

“You’re wrecking my boyfriend, buddy. Please stop and yes you can open your eyes.”

My boyfriend. Keith’s pulse quickened to an unhealthy tempo. He was beyond thrilled.

"Since when?" Hunk gathered his tray and made his way to the coffee table.

"Since before we had to answer that distress signal."

Hunk blanched at first but then a smile broke onto his features. "Well, that's great. Congrats you two. We should celebrate with the cake that is cooling down now."

Hunk placed down his tray with too much force making Keith and Lance flinch, before he enveloped them both into one of his trade-mark hugs. "But if you are ever pulling a stunt like this, buddy", Hunk whispered, voice suddenly trembling. "I swear, you will get the scolding of a life-time. No ditching on family dinners anymore, understood?"

Keith and Lance nodded vaguely.

“Your heard him, kids.”

Another time the door had swooshed open revealing Shiro who pushed a food cart with Hunks creations. Keith had not exaggerated about Hunk’s stress-baking, even the Olkari were puzzled over the sheer amount of food the Yellow Palladin had created.

“Shiro!” Lance started to squirm, he wanted to move out of Keith’s lap. “It’s not what it looks like, it’s … I mean, I … ”

But this time Keith answered. “It is exactly what it looks like.” His hold tightened securely locking Lance into his embrace.

“Well done.” Shiro smiled brightly before taking the last seat.

Lance spluttered, at loss for words. His caramel skin turned pink, gaze shifting through the room but there was no way to hide his embarrassment.

“I don’t want you to hide from us.” Keith told his boyfriend as seriously as possible. He couldn’t voice the L-word, but he could declare his geniuneness. “We’ve wasted enough time hiding.”

 

* * *

 

The commotion woke up Pidge who sat up grumpily until she saw the mountains of delicious food. The group shifted easily into rearranging their seating. Keith and Lance were placed on the bed, if Lance needed to rest, the table in front of them and the paladins forming a loose circle. They started to share snacks and sandwiches, pour tea and Olkarion juice when the door swooshed open again. Lance did not remember ever having so many hospital visitors at once.

Coran entered, carrying more stools inside. “You look better, my boy”, the royal advisor cheered. “I heard Number Four made us a feast. Well, we’re definitely hungry.”

Following on his heels were Allura and to Lance’s surprise Krolia, arms full with cake and more of Hunks delicious cooking.

Indeed, Hunk made them the most delicious food worthy of a feast.

 

* * *

 

“Has anyone figured out what to do if the Lions keep not responding?” Plates and cups empty, Allura let her gaze wander over the present paladins and the rest of their group. “I don’t know if it’s safe to wormhole greater distances with the cruisers of the coalition. The Galra had made sure that the technology of most of the races kept far behind their standards.”

“Have you figured it out, Lance?”, Pidge addressed the question directly to him.

Keith squeezed his hand when Lance met Shiro’s reassuring smile. Krolia and Coran were listening attentively.

“We-well …”, he started, suddenly nervous. “I don’t see a problem here.”

Weeks ago Allura would have brushed him aside but now she was waiting for him to fold out his plans. Taking a deep, steadying breath, he continued: “Black and Red are responding normally, at least to my account.”

Keith nodded silently. He and Black tended to save their words for important occasions.

“Yellow is as forgiving as Hunk, I doubt she’s still mad. She’s a big softie, an honest excuse is all she’s probably waiting for. It took me a while before she talked to me, she didn’t want to intrude, that’s why Hunk should make the first approach.”

“You mean …” Hunk looked at him astonished. “I could talk with Yellow?”

“Sure thing, buddy. She would be the happiest.” He smiled at Hunk’s sudden determined look. “She’ll smoother you with love, buddy. Plus, Green and Pidge are working on it, I can tell.” Lance concentrated and stretched out to the faint trace of green quintessence. “Green is hungry for every detail concerning her paladin, she’ll function properly if Pidge keeps talking and arguing with her. She loves to debate and she loves even more to share her knowledge. If Pidge keeps her company, she’ll come around.”

“You haven’t explained to me yet how you hacked into Green’s system.”

“As if I could hack anything … she let me in, Pidgey.”

 

“That leaves Blue”, Allura sighed.

“Well, Blue’s been angry for several weeks now, she will stay mad at you a little while longer, princess.” Allura huffed indignantly though. “It’s partly my fault, Blue is still worried about me, even if Red does not like sharing, Blue still looks out for me. I’m sor…”

“Don’t be”, Allura interrupted him, rubbing her temples as if she was getting a headache. “We’ve already discussed this, haven’t we?” Her words were harsh but her tone was mild, the princess probably blamed herself for her actions, too. They were all inexperienced and young, they would learn to work as a good-balanced team though.

 Chatter and banter took over, Pidge couldn’t stop teasing Allura – chuckles, laughter, words flying freely over Lance’s head. For the first time in weeks, everyone was gathered, everyone was acknowledging him, hearing him out.

Hopefully this time they cohesion would last a little longer and …

 

"Lance", Keith whispered into his ear. "Stop with the gloomy thoughts. You are not a seventh wheel, or the sixth of the pack, or whatever ... you don't need a number or a ranking."

Lance choked on his answer, negative thoughts spilling out like a water pipe broken … _Hush, my paladin._ As on cue, Red re-appeared again. _Listen._

“You don’t need a number”, Keith continued, the rest of their group still unaware of their little conversation. “You are the center of our group, like a strong pillar we can lean on. Or the glue that keeps us together, without you we would break apart and crumble. There’s no digit in this universe to describe you.”

Lance leaned back, longing for more points to touch Keith indirectly. “Still, I like being your first choice.”

Although the rest of their make-shift family was present, Pidge was gagging at his cheesy comment, Hunk dreamily sighed and Krolia sipped her tea smiling … Keith pressed a kiss on the top of Lance’s head. “And you’ll always be. To infinity.”

That was a number Lance could easily deal with, a number that set his heart beat on frenzy. Infinity sounded just about right.  

 

The End.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are love. :)


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